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Wendte,  Charles  William, 

1844-1931. 
Thomas  Starr  King,  patriot 


«   GREEN  STREET 


THOMAS  STARR  KING 

Patriot  and  Preacher 


7.   SREEN  STREEX 


BROTHERS'  fl'-        / 

iV.    GREEN  STREET 


THOMAS    STARR    KING 

Patriot  and  Preacher 


BY 

CHARLES  W.  WENDTE 


Nationality  and  Humanity  are  equally  sacred. 
To  forget  humanity  is  to  suppress  the  aim  of 
our  labors ;  to  cancel  the  nation  is  to  suppress 
the  instrument  by  which  to  achieve  the  aim. 

Joseph  Mazzini. 


THE     BEACON     PRESS 

BOSTON       -:-       MASSACHUSETTS 


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'^  G^^SN 


sr/$ 


^^27/ 


Copyright,  1921,  by 
THE  BEACON  PRESS,  Inc. 


All  rights  reserved 


TO 

DAVID  STARR  JORDAN 

IN 
ADMIRATION   AND   FRIENDSHIP 


iT.    GREEN  STREET 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS 


Foreword 


FAGB 

xi 


PART  I 
THOMAS  STARR  KING 

OHAPTEB 

I  Antecedents  and  Education  . 

II  In  the  Ministry 

III  On  the  Lecture  Platform 

IV  Call  and  Transfer  to  California 
V  The  New  Field  in  San  Francisco 

VI     Lecturing  on  the  Pacific  Coast 
VII     A  Eulogist  of  California  Scenery 


3 
17 
49 
69 
86 
no 
120 


PART  II 
ORATOR  AND  PATRIOT 


I     Patriotic  Activities 153 

II  Oratorical  Campaign  for  the  Union     .  179 

III  Dedication  of  the  New  Church  .      .      .  207 

IV  Death  of  the  Patriot  and  Teacher     .  213 
V    In  Appreciation 221 


i7    GREEN  STREET] 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 

PAGB 

Portrait  of  Thomas  Starr  King     .      .      .    Frontispiece 

Starr  King  Mountain,  White  Hills,  New  Hampshire     62 

Mt.  Starr  King,  Yosemite,  Sierra  Nevada  .      .      .148 

Statue  of  Starr  King,  Golden  Gate  Park,  San  Fran- 
cisco       210 

Church  and  Tomb  of  Thomas  Starr  King  in  San 
Francisco 220 


FOREWORD 

My  first  acquaintance  with  Thomas  Starr  King 
was  when,  in  the  spring  of  1861,  a  youth  of  seventeen, 
accompanied  by  my  widowed  mother  and  younger 
brother,  I  arrived  in  San  Francisco,  by  way  of  the 
Isthmus  of  Panama,  in  search  of  health  and  oppor- 
tunity. Our  family  physician  had  warned  me  to  ex- 
change at  once  the  harsh  climate  of  my  native  city 
of  Boston  for  the  sunshine  and  out-of-door  life  of 
California.  I  had  little  or  no  acquaintance  with  con- 
ditions on  the  Pacific  Coast.  My  only  reliance  was 
on  the  Providence  which  had  hitherto  guided  our 
family  destinies,  and  my  earnest  purpose  and  modest 
capacity  for  service.  Kind  friends  had  provided  me 
with  letters  of  introduction  to  residents  of  San  Fran- 
cisco. One  of  these  addressed  to  the  Rev.  Thomas 
Starr  King  of  that  city  proved  to  be  the  golden 
key  which  not  only  opened  to  me  the  riches  of  his 
opulent  and  generous  nature,  but  also  the  door  of 
social,  business  and  religious  opportunity. 

On  landing,  our  little  family  found  a  temporary 
abiding  place.  The  next  step  was  to  present  our 
letters  of  introduction  and  seek  some  bread-winning 
employment. 

I  was  fortunate  enough  to  secure  employment  for 
a  few  weeks  as  Secretary  of  the  San  Francisco  Board 

[xi] 


FOREWORD 

of  Port  Wardens,  a  position  which  had  become  va- 
cant. At  the  close  of  this  brief  term,  however,  the 
Democratic  incumbents  would  go  out  of  office,  the 
Union  party  having  triumphed  at  the  recent  state 
election.  The  incoming  governor,  Hon.  Leland 
Stanford,  would  have  the  appointment  of  the  new 
board  and  its  secretary.  The  duties  of  the  latter 
office  proved  to  be  congenial  and  not  exacting.  The 
salary  attached  to  the  place  would  enable  me  to  sup- 
port my  mother  and  myself  and  put  an  end  to  our 
domestic  anxiety.  The  desire  to  retain  the  position 
naturally  arose.  But  I  had  rendered  no  party  serv- 
ice whatever,  and  hence,  according  to  the  political 
ethics  of  that  day,  had  no  claim  on  the  office.  Only 
one  possibility  remained.  Thomas  Starr  King,  who 
had  come  to  California  the  year  previous,  had  al- 
ready made  himself  widely  influential  through  his 
eloquence  and  patriotism.  The  recent  success  of  the 
Union  cause  at  the  polls  was  in  no  slight  degree  at- 
tributable to  him.  The  incoming  governor  was  his 
personal  friend  and  parishioner.  If  now  Mr.  King 
were  to  ask  for  this  small  post  for  me  it  would  surely 
not  be  denied  him.  But  could  a  newcomer  like  my- 
self, known  to  him  only  through  a  letter  of  introduc- 
tion, venture  to  ask  such  a  favor?  The  necessities 
of  the  situation  made  me  bold.  Mr.  King  had  re- 
ceived me  kindly  and  expressed  an  interest  in  our 
family  fortunes.  He  and  his  wife  had  called  upon 
us.  He  had  inquired  about  my  studies  and  aims  in 
life.     I  felt  encouraged,  therefore,  to  appeal  to  the 

[xii] 


FOREWORD 

man  whose  discourses  on  Sunday  and  expressions  of 
personal  good-will  had  given  me  an  exalted  idea  of 
his  intellectual  and  moral  qualities  and  his  goodness 
of  heart. 

Mr.  King  received  me  with  cordiality,  and  listened 
sympathetically  to  my  story  and  timid  suggestion  of 
his  possible  ability  to  aid  me  in  this  critical  juncture 
of  my  life.  He  assured  me  of  his  readiness  to  do  all 
in  his  power  to  further  my  aim,  and  that  he  felt  par- 
ticularly drawn  to  it  because  he  himself  when  a  youth 
of  sixteen  had  secured  a  similar  office  in  the  Charles- 
town  Navy  Yard,  which  had  enabled  him  to  support 
his  mother  and  sister  for  some  years  until  he  entered 
his  present  profession.  He  felt  he  had  been  of  some 
aid  to  the  Union  cause  in  California  by  his  public 
addresses.  Governor  Stanford  was  to  be  in  town  the 
very  next  day.  He  would  call  upon  him  and  ask  my 
appointment.  It  was  very  uncertain.  The  position 
might  already  be  disposed  of.  I  must  indulge  in  no 
undue  hopes.  He  would  do  his  best  for  me.  It  was 
arranged  that  I  should  call  on  Mr.  King  in  the  eve- 
ning of  the  next  day  and  learn  the  result  of  his  inter- 
view with  the  Governor. 

The  next  day  was  an  anxious  one.  So  much  de- 
pended on  its  issue  for  me  and  mine.  At  noon  a 
terrific  storm  burst  over  the  city.  The  rain  fell  in 
torrents,  overflowing  the  lower  streets,  while  the  surg- 
ing waters  of  the  bay  swept  over  the  wharves.  Alone 
in  the  office,  I  mechanically  put  the  records  in  the 
safe  and  waited  for  the  fury  of  the  storm  to  subside 

[xiii] 


FOREWORD 

before  venturing  homeward.  I  was  indescribably 
sad.  My  usual  hopefulness  had  entirely  deserted  me. 
Suddenly  I  was  surprised  to  hear  a  sharp  rap  at  the 
door.  I  opened  it,  and  there  without,  to  my  amaze- 
ment, stood  Starr  King,  his  cheeks  flushed,  his  lumi- 
nous eyes  filled  with  joy,  and  his  hand  extended  as  he 
cried:  "It's  all  right,  my  boy!  It's  all  right!  I've 
seen  Governor  Stanford.  He  was  very  cordial,  and 
you  are  to  retain  your  position  for  the  two  years  of 
his  administration.  I  congratulate  you.  I'm  so 
glad!"  But  I,  though  rejoicing  at  the  happy  news, 
could  see  only  the  rain-drops  that  dripped  from  his 
long,  lank  hair  and  saturated  garments:  "O,  Mr. 
King,  why  did  you  come  so  far  in  such  a  deluge  to 
tell  me  this?  Why,  I  was  to  call  on  you  this  evening 
and  learn  my  fate!"  "Never  mind,  my  dear  fellow. 
It's  only  a  little  rain — my  umbrella  was  blown  to 
bits  at  the  corner.  I  knew  you  must  be  very  anxious 
to  learn  the  result  of  my  interview  with  the  Governor, 
so  I  came  right  down  to  tell  you.  I  thought  I  might 
make  you  happy  a  few  hours  earlier." 

Such  was  Starr  King!  It  is  no  wonder  that  the 
men  and  women,  both  East  and  West,  who  had  the 
privilege  of  his  friendship  were  attached  to  him  with 
a  devotion  which  neither  death  nor  the  lapse  of  years 
can  diminish,  and  treasure  his  memory  with  gratitude, 
as  an  inspiration  for  their  higher  faith  in  goodness 
and  an  incentive  to  nobler  living. 

The  narration  of  this  incident,  which  in  his  early 
manhood  brought  the  writer  close  to  the  generous 

[xiv] 


FOREWORD 

heart  of  Starr  King,  will  make  better  understood  the 
tribute  to  that  eminent  man  which  follows  this  intro- 
duction. The  friendly  regard  thus  displayed  at  the 
outset  Mr.  King  continued  to  show  throughout  the 
remainder  of  his  brief  life  on  earth,  with  an  ever- 
increasing  veneration  on  the  part  of  the  younger  man 
for  the  brilliant  gifts,  the  public  services  and  personal 
character  of  his  pastor  and  friend.  Just  before  Mr. 
King's  lamented  death,  as  I  afterwards  learned,  he 
had  interceded  with  the  new  governor-elect,  that  I 
might  retain  my  position,  a  request  which  was 
granted.  The  whole  tenor  of  my  life  was  changed 
and  determined  by  my  acquaintance  with  Starr  King. 
I  eagerly  availed  myself  of  my  opportunities  to  hear 
him  preach  and  lecture,  listening  with  delight  to  his 
great  orations  in  behalf  of  the  Union  and  the  Consti- 
tution in  that  critical  hour  of  American,  and  espe- 
cially of  Californian  history.  I  sought  his  society 
and  counsel.  His  death  was  the  first  great  sorrow 
of  my  life,  and  the  impression  produced  upon  me  by 
his  character  and  career  so  profound,  that  not  long 
after  I  decided  to  give  up  all  thoughts  of  a  business 
future  and  devote  myself  to  the  vocation  of  a  Liberal 
Christian  minister.  Returning  to  the  East  I  gradu- 
ated from  the  Harvard  Divinity  School  in  1869  with 
the  fixed  purpose  of  returning  to  California  to  labor 
for  the  ideal  causes  which  Starr  King  had  represented 
in  his  life  and  ministry.  But  it  was  not  until  nearly 
twenty  years  later  that  I  was  enabled  to  carry  out 
these  plans.     Returning  to  the   Pacific   States  for 

[XV] 


FOREWORD 

twelve  years  of  ministerial  and  public  service,  I 
sought  everywhere  and  always  to  magnify  the  person- 
ality and  career  of  Starr  King  as  the  type  of  religion 
and  citizenship  demanded  by  the  young  civilization 
of  the  Coast. 

It  was  a  privilege  to  renew  acquaintance  with  the 
surviving  family  and  friends  of  Mr.  King,  and  espe- 
cially to  take  an  active  part  in  the  popular  movement 
to  honor  his  memory  which  led  to  the  erection,  in 
1892,  of  a  noble  statue  and  monument  to  this  Chris- 
tian patriot  of  California  in  the  great  public  park  of 
San  Francisco  which  overlooks  the  Golden  Gate,  and 
at  whose  unveiling  I  uttered  the  dedicatory  prayer. 

One  other  service  I  fain  would  have  rendered  the 
memory  of  my  friend,  the  preparation  of  an  adequate 
biography  of  him,  for  which  I  had  begun  to  collect 
materials. 

His  surviving  family  were  divided  in  opinion  as 
to  the  advisability  of  a  more  extended  life  of  Mr. 
King  than  the  admirable  but  all  too  brief  memoir  by 
Edwin  P.  Whipple  which  had  been  prefixed,  at  their 
instance,  to  the  published  collection  of  Mr.  King's 
orations  and  discourses. 

In  the  meantime  the  interest  in  Mr.  King's  career 
and  public  services  has  not  diminished  but  increased. 
Constant  references  are  made  to  his  personal  gifts 
and  qualities,  and  his  religious  and  patriotic  activities 
during  the  great  Civil  War  as  one  of  the  moral  foun- 
ders of  the  new  Commonwealth  of  California.  Vari- 
ous addresses  and  monographs  have  appeared  on  the 

[xvi] 


FOREWORD 

subject.  In  my  own  case  a  lecture  on  this  congenial 
theme  has  been  delivered  all  over  the  Eastern  and 
Western  States  of  the  Union.  The  interest  it  has 
called  forth,  especially  in  these  recent  years  of  world 
war  for  freedom,  righteousness  and  democracy,  has 
encouraged  the  writer  to  amplify  and  put  into  per- 
manent form  this  personal  tribute  to  the  hero  of  his 
younger  days.  The  narrative  is  enriched  by  the  in- 
clusion of  as  yet  unpublished  letters  of  Mr.  King  to 
his  friends:  also  by  extracts  from  Mr.  King's  journal 
of  his  voyage,  via  the  Isthmus  of  Panama,  in  i860, 
to  San  Francisco,  and  his  letters  to  the  Boston  Eve- 
ning Transcript  on  California  scenery  and  life,  as 
well  as  by  illustrative  citations  from  his  writings. 

The  author  ventures  to  hope  that  these  features 
may  contribute  to  a  fuller  knowledge  and  better  ap- 
preciation of  this  champion  of  Nationality  as  the  ap- 
pointed way  to  World-Brotherhood,  and  of  Patriot- 
ism as  an  exalted  virtue  of  individual  character  and 
civil  society,  and  so  help  to  inspire  a  future  genera- 
tion, as  it  has  aided  in  redeeming  a  past  one. 

Acknowledgments  are  due  to  many  friends  who 
have  aided  his  undertaking,  especially  to  Miss  Flor- 
ence Cushman,  a  niece,  and  the  Misses  Wiggin,  of 
Newton,  relatives  of  Starr  King. 

Charles  W.  Wendte. 


[xvii] 


PART  I 
THOMAS  STARR  KING 


THOMAS  STARR  KING 

CHAPTER  I 

ANTECEDENTS  AND  EDUCATION 

THOMAS  STARR  KING,  patriot  and 
preacher  of  Civil  War  fame,  lying  on  his 
death-bed  in  San  Francisco  in  the  fortieth 
year  of  his  age,  said  sadly,  as  he  thought  of  his  friends 
on  the  other  side  of  the  continent:  ^'To-day  is  the 
fourth  of  March.  Sad  news  will  go  over  the  wires 
to-day."  A  few  moments  later,  after  a  touching 
farewell  to  his  family  and  friends  about  his  bedside, 
with  avowals  of  trust  in  the  Eternal  and  full  assur- 
ance of  immortal  life,  this  champion  of  country  and 
humanity  passed  calmly  away,  leaving  not  only  his 
friends,  but  the  state,  the  nation,  in  sorrow  at  the  loss 
of  one  of  the  most  eloquent  advocates  of  the  national 
idea  and  the  virtues  of  patriotism  in  American  his- 
tory. 

There  is  no  danger  that  those  among  the  living  who 
were  permitted  to  know  Mr.  King  personally  and 
were  eye-witnesses  of  his  public  career  will  ever  for- 
get that  gifted  and  radiant  being.  They  treasure 
the  memory  of  his  unspotted  life,  his  ardent  love  of 
country,  and  his  eloquent  appeals  for  the  preserva- 

[3] 


THOMAS  STARR  KING 

tion  of  the  Union  and  the  emancipation  of  the  slave. 
They  do  not  cease  to  mourn  the  early  death  which 
came  to  him  because  of  his  utter  devotion  to  the  un- 
divided nation  and  the  public  honor  and  welfare. 

But  a  new  generation  has  come  into  being  since 
those  crucial  days  of  the  republic,  to  whom  the  name 
of  Starr  King  is  only  a  tradition  vaguely  associated 
with  eloquent  utterances  and  patriotic  service  ren- 
dered the  State  of  California  during  the  Civil  War 
of  1860-65.  To  inform  these  more  fully  concerning 
this  leader  of  the  national  sentiment,  and  thus  help 
preserve  his  influence  in  our  American  democracy, 
is  the  purpose  of  this  tribute  to  Starr  King  by  one 
who  was  his  contemporary  in  California,  who  knew 
him  personally,  and  was  an  admiring  witness  of  his 
public  activities.  For,  as  Starr  King  himself  told 
us  in  an  early  lecture  on  George  Washington,  if  we 
cannot  have  sight  of  great  men  it  is  well  that  we 
should  learn  what  we  can  of  their  character  and 
career,  and  take  their  example  to  heart  as  an  incen- 
tive to  equal  devotion. 

Certainly  no  public  man  associated  with  the  early 
history  of  California  better  deserves  this  recognition. 
More  than  any  other  citizen  Starr  King  assured  the 
loyalty  and  preserved  the  internal  peace  of  California 
in  the  critical  hour  of  her  history,  and  was  the  elo- 
quent voice  of  her  patriotism,  the  eulogist  of  her 
magnificent  scenery,  the  quickener  of  her  intellectual 
life,  the  prophet  of  her  coming  greatness,  and  the  type 
of  her  broad,  humanitarian  religion. 

[4] 


ANTECEDENTS  AND  EDUCATION 

Starr  King  had  already  a  national  reputation  when 
he  came  to  California  in  the  spring  of  i860  as  minis- 
ter-elect of  the  Unitarian  Society  in  San  Francisco. 
Looking  back  on  his  personal  history  it  is  interest- 
ing to  note  that  his  immediate  ancestry  on  the  mater- 
nal side  was  German,  his  maternal  grandfather, 
Thomas  Starr,  having  emigrated  from  the  Rhine 
lands  to  the  United  States,  with  his  wife  and  son 
Thomas,  in  the  latter  part  of  the  eighteenth  century. 
This  son  Thomas  became  a  business  man  in  New 
York  City  and  married  Mary  Lavinus  of  French  de- 
scent. Their  second  daughter,  Susan  Starr,  married 
Rev.  Thomas  Farrington  King,  of  English  antece- 
dents, whose  eldest  child  was  Thomas  Starr  King, 
born  in  New  York  City  on  December  17th, 
1824.  Thus  three  nations  contributed  to  his  endow- 
ment. 

The  father  was  a  man  of  high  character,  good 
abilities  as  a  preacher  and  fine  social  qualities. 
From  him  "Starr"  inherited  his  sunny  disposition, 
keen  sense  of  humor  and  companionable  nature. 
His  intellectual  gifts  seem  to  have  descended  to  him 
chiefly  through  his  mother,  a  woman  of  character 
and  intelligence,  who  early  noted  and  sedulously 
fostered  the  studious  bent  of  her  talented  son.  His 
father,  settled  at  first  in  Hudson,  N.  Y.,  accepted  an 
invitation  to  become  pastor  of  a  Universalist  Society 
in  Portsmouth,  N.  H.,  and  in  this  picturesque  old 
seaport  Starr  passed  six  years  of  his  boyhood.  He 
was  sent  to  a  private  school  where,  besides  the  usual 

[s] 


THOMAS  STARR  KING 

branches  of  study,  he  acquired  a  good  knowledge, 
for  his  age,  of  Latin  and  French.  In  1835  the  family 
removed  to  Charlestown,  Mass.,  whither  Rev.  Mr. 
King  had  been  called  as  pastor  of  a  large  Universalist 
church,  and  here  Starr  spent  his  youth  and  early 
manhood.  He  was  educated  in  the  excellent  public 
schools  of  Charlestown,  whose  residents  in  that  day 
were  chiefly  of  American  stock,  and  whose  proximity 
to  Boston  and  Cambridge  imparted  an  unusual  degree 
of  culture  to  its  society,  while  the  traditions  cluster- 
ing about  Bunker  Hill  and  the  early  struggle  for 
national  independence  made  it  one  of  the  shrines 
and  nurseries  of  American  patriotism.  There  being 
no  high  school  in  the  town,  an  arrangement  was  made 
by  which  pupils  could  be  fitted  for  college  under 
the  excellent  tuition  of  the  principal  of  the  grammar 
school,  Mr.  Joshua  Bates.  Starr's  manifest  ability, 
graceful  and  impressive  declamation  and  talented 
compositions  attracted  the  attention  of  his  teachers 
and  indicated  his  future  distinction.  He  seemed 
mature  beyond  his  years,  while  his  sincerity,  gentle- 
ness, modesty,  consideration  for  others,  and  sunny 
nature  made  him  a  universal  favorite.  "A  bright- 
eyed,  vivacious,  lovable  lad  of  slender  form,  golden 
hair,  ruddy  complexion,  winning  ways;  uncommonly 
mirthful,  he  was  as  fond  of  books  as  he  was  of  fun, — " 
reported  one  of  his  early  teachers. 

Even  as  a  child  his  sense  of  humor  was  displayed. 
A  parishioner  of  his  father  in  Charlestown  told  the 
writer  that  she  recalled  seeing  the  boy  at  church  one 

[6] 


ANTECEDENTS  AND  EDUCATION 

Sunday,  sitting  alone  in  the  minister's  pew.  In  the 
pew  in  front  of  him  sat  a  woman  with  vividly  red 
hair.  Little  Starr  amused  himself  and  his  neighbors 
by  repeatedly  thrusting  his  finger  at  her  fiery  locks, 
and  then  quickly  withdrawing  it  to  blow  upon  it,  with 
a  comical  simulation  of  agony  on  his  roguish  young 
face. 

This  mirthfulness  was  accompanied,  however,  by 
a  deep  sense  of  reverence.  At  table,  we  are  told, 
when  his  father  said  grace,  little  Starr  would  fold 
his  hands,  close  his  eyes  and  bow  his  head,  saying 
"Amen!"  at  the  close — a  habit  he  had  not  been  taught 
but  had  himself  adopted.  He  was  faithful  at  church 
and  Sunday  School  and  seemed  predestined  for  the 
ministerial  calling,  for  which  his  gifts  and  inclina- 
tions, as  well  as  the  parental  encouragement  well 
fitted  him.  In  his  thirteenth  year  he  had  written  a 
sermon,  which  was  printed  in  a  denominational 
paper. 

The  long  illness  and  early  death  of  Starr's  father 
compelled  him,  however,  to  give  up  all  thoughts  of 
a  college  education,  and  the  youth  entered  a  store  as 
clerk  and  bookkeeper,  becoming  at  fifteen  years  of 
age  the  mainstay  of  his  mother  and  the  five  younger 
children.  Without  murmur  or  complaint  he  ac- 
cepted this  disappointment  of  his  hopes  of  a  college 
education  and  professional  career.  One  of  his  sisters, 
Angela  Starr  King  (Moore) — be  it  said  in  passing — 
was  a  woman  of  brilliant  parts,  and  later  displayed 
rare  gifts  as  a  dramatic  reader.     Though  now  en- 

[7] 


THOMAS  STARR  KING 

gaged  in  business  pursuits  Starr  King  remained  de- 
voted to  study  and  self-improvement.  He  formed  a 
club  with  other  like-minded  young  men  for  serious 
reading  and  discussion.  He  was  an  omnivorous  and 
rapid  reader  of  books,  with  a  peculiar  aptitude  for 
philosophical  study,  reading  metaphysical  works 
with  the  ease  and  relish  with  which  most  young  peo- 
ple devour  novels.  One  of  his  teachers,  Professor 
Tweed,  says  of  him  at  this  period :  "  He  would  read 
what  seemed  to  me  an  involved  and  obscure  passage 
from  Kant — and  when  I  began  to  express  a  doubt 
whether  I  perfectly  understood  it,  he  would  instantly 
state  it  in  terms  which  rendered  it  as  clear  as  day- 
light. He  was  not  a  hard  student;  he  was  incapable 
of  hard  study.  The  most  abstruse  problems  fur- 
nished him  only  with  intellectual  play.  He  had  a 
natural  affinity  for  knowledge.  Its  acquisition  was 
not  labor,  but  a  delight."  His  correspondence  with 
his  friends  on  philosophical  topics  evinced  a  mastery 
of  metaphysics,  a  power  for  generalizing  and  impart- 
ing the  underlying  principles  of  the  dififering  schools 
of  thought  which  would  be  remarkable  in  a  mature 
scholar,  much  more  so  in  a  youth  of  eighteen.  At- 
tending the  lecture  courses  on  Natural  Religion  given 
by  Rev.  Professor  James  Walker  of  Harvard  Col- 
lege at  the  Lowell  Institute  in  Boston,  he  took  notes 
in  long  hand  of  the  whole  series,  and  wrote  out  the 
twelve  lectures  of  the  third  course  in  full.  Three 
years  later  this  reproduction  was  printed  in  a  Boston 
newspaper.     It  was  deemed  an  astonishing  feat  of 

[8] 


ANTECEDENTS  AND  EDUCATION 

mind  and  memory.  He  also  attended  the  lectures 
of  Professor  Silliman  on  Chemistry,  and  other 
courses.  The  writings  of  Drs.  W.  E.  Channing  and 
James  Martineau  kindled  within  him  sentiments  of 
admiration  and  reverence,  and  profoundly  affected 
his  religious  opinions.  For  Theodore  Parker's 
school  of  thought  and  method  of  presentation  he 
seems  to  have  had  less  affinity.  I  can  find  no  trace 
at  this  time  of  any  noticeable  influence  of  Emerson 
on  his  thinking.  On  Sundays  he  listened  to  the  elo- 
quent discourses  of  Rev.  E.  H.  Chapin,  who  had  suc- 
ceeded his  father  in  the  Charlestown  pulpit,  and 
formed  with  that  eminent  divine  a  friendship  which 
endured  through  life. 

In  the  meantime  his  daily  business  duties  were  per- 
formed with  conscientious  care  and  to  the  entire  sat- 
isfaction of  his  employer.  He  soon,  however,  ex- 
changed these  duties  for  the  more  congenial  occupa- 
tion of  a  school  teacher;  becoming  at  eighteen  princi- 
pal of  a  grammar  school  in  Medford,  Mass.,  whither 
the  whole  family  removed  in  1842.  Here  he  not 
only  found  a  larger  field  of  labor  and  an  enlarged 
income,  but  the  rare  good  fortune  of  constant  per- 
sonal intercourse  with  the  Universalist  pastor  of 
Medford,  Rev.  Hosea  Ballou,  2nd,  who  later  became 
the  first  president  of  Tufts  College.  Dr.  Ballou  was 
a  learned  scholar,  and  one  of  the  most  profound 
minds  in  the  religious  life  of  that  day-  This  contact 
could  not  fail  to  be  of  great  importance  to  Starr 
King's  intellectual  and  religious  development.     He 

[9] 


THOMAS  STARR  KING 

gratefully  spoke  ever  after  of  Dr.  Ballou  as  his  "the- 
ological father." 

Theodore  Parker,  the  great  radical  preacher  of 
Boston,  who  met  him  in  Medford  at  this  time,  records 
in  his  diary:  ''Saw  Schoolmaster  Thomas  Starr 
King,  capital  fellow,  only  nineteen,  has  taught  school 
three  years,  supports  his  mother,  reads  French,  Span- 
ish, Latin,  Italian  and  a  little  Greek,  and  begins 
German.     He  is  a  good  listener." 

In  1843  Starr  received  the  appointment  of  book- 
keeper in  the  Charlestown  Navy  Yard,  which  not 
only  increased  his  income  but  afforded  more  leisure 
for  study.  He  was  now  deep  in  the  German  lan- 
guage and  literature  and  found  it  a  mine  of  intel- 
lectual riches.  He  always  valued  his  descent,  on  the 
maternal  side,  from  that  student  nation.  An  aunt. 
Miss  Sarah  E.  Starr,  only  four  years  his  senior,  was 
a  successful  teacher  of  the  German  language  and 
literature.  A  woman  of  poetic  gifts  and  varied  ac- 
complishments she  was  highly  esteemed  by  Starr 
King,  as  his  correspondence  with  her  discloses. 

Hon.  Richard  Frothingham,  of  Charlestown,  a 
near  neighbor  and  intimate  personal  friend  of  Starr 
King,  in  a  memoir  of  the  latter  published  shortly 
after  his  death,  gives  much  information  concerning 
this  period  of  Mr.  King's  life  and  reproduces  some 
of  his  youthful  correspondence  with  friends  and  fel- 
low-students. He  was  now  having  "glorious  times" 
in  attending  a  philosophical  class  which  met  every 
Wednesday  evening,  and  was  reading  Stewart  on  the 

[10] 


ANTECEDENTS  AND  EDUCATION 

philosophy  of  the  mind.  He  read  much,  and  sought 
rare  books  on  this  subject.  When  Dr.  Ott's  book  on 
Hegel  came  out,  he  invited  certain  Harvard  students 
to  read  it  w^ith  him,  and  rich  were  the  hours  they 
had  over  this  book.  "I  am  at  present,"  he  wrote, 
'^engaged  in  the  study  of  a  work  on  the  latest  school 
of  German  philosophy.  It  is  by  Dr.  Ott,  of  Paris; 
and  is  an  exposition  of  the  system  of  Hegel.  Kant's 
system  is  pretty  difficult;  but  this  ties  the  brain  up  in 
knots."  He  would  attend  at  times  in  Boston  German 
religious  services  on  Sunday,  in  order  to  familiarize 
himself  with  the  spoken  language.  Far  into  the 
night  he  would  talk  of  Goethe  and  Schiller  and 
their  fellow-poets,  and  the  German  divines  of  the 
schools  of  Tholuck  and  De  Wette.  He  read  the 
works  of  Guizot  and  Schlegel  on  the  philosophy  of 
history.  For  Greek  schools  of  thought  he  had  an 
equal  veneration,  and  would  discourse  for  hours  to 
a  sympathetic  listener  on  the  greatness  of  a  Socrates 
and  a  Plato.  'Well  do  I  remember,"  remarked  his 
friend,  Rev.  A.  D.  Mayo,  in  an  after-dinner  speech 
in  Faneuil  Hall,  "that  the  first  day  of  our  youthful 
acquaintance  he  read  me  into  a  fit  of  indigestion  and 
a  sleepless  night  with  his  Plato  and  Kant  and  Cousin ; 
a  night  whose  watchful  hours  I  improved  by  matur- 
ing the  resolution  that  on  my  return  to  my  country 
home  I  would  begin  those  philosophical  studies  in 
which  he  is  second  to  no  man  of  his  age  in  our  coun- 
try." Mr.  King,  who  was  present  on  this  occasion, 
in  the  course  of  a  speech  he  made,  wittily  retorted : 

["] 


THOMAS  STARR  KING 

*'Let  me  say  here,  that  however  much  interested  I 
may  have  felt  in  philosophy  generally,  there  is  one 
system,  verbally  represented  by  one  of  the  names 
just  pronounced,  which  has  done  so  much  harm  in 
the  religious  world  that  I  try  to  get  rid  of  it,  and 
earnestly  desire  to  see  all  pulpits  and  meetings  utterly 
free  from  its  poison — the  system  of  cant." 

Among  Starr's  most  intimate  and  beloved  friends 
was  Randolph  Ryer  of  New  York,  a  young  man  of 
similar  tastes  and  aims,  engaged,  however,  in  business 
pursuits,  with  whom  he  corresponded  for  nearly 
twenty-five  years.  These  letters  may  almost  be  con- 
sidered a  diary  of  his  inner  life.  They  abound  in 
quips,  banter,  puns,  and  similar  displays  of  his  ex- 
uberant spirits  and  sense  of  humor.  Whilst  their 
private  reading  gives  one  a  pleasant  insight  into  the 
brilliant  promise  and  lovable  qualities  of  the  writer 
and  his  capacity  for  friendship,  they  are,  in  many 
cases,  of  too  personal  and  informal  a  character  to 
permit  extended  quotation.  Placed  at  our  disposal 
we  allow  ourselves  such  extracts  as  throw  light  on  his 
character  and  career. 

In  May,  1841,  he  tells  his  friend  Ryer  gleefully 
of  a  visit  to  O.  S.  Fowler,  the  phrenologist,  who  after 
the  usual  examination  of  the  cranium,  advises  him  to 
study  law,  as  more  in  accord  with  his  natural  dispo- 
sition because  of  his  smallness  of  conscientiousness 
and  veneration  and  the  preponderance  of  combative- 
ness  and  destructiveness,  with  large  causality  and 
hope!     "On  my  asking  him  how  I  was  qualified  for 

[.2] 


ANTECEDENTS  AND  EDUCATION 

the  ministry,  he  replied  by  laughing!  telling  me  that 
this  profession  was  out  of  the  question,  since  I  was 
by  no  means  serious,  and  a  lack  of  veneration  would 
be  a  real  defect."  But,  on  insistence,  Mr.  Fowler 
said  if  he  became  a  preacher  his  doctrine  would  be 
''thorough-going  Universalism."  He  also  proph- 
esied that  he  would  be  a  very  eloquent  speaker  what- 
ever profession  he  adopted,  and  would  some  day  be- 
come an  author. 

In  October,  1842,  Starr  asks  the  same  friend :  "How 
are  politics  in  your  quarter?  Daniel  Webster's 
speech  made  a  stir  in  your  village,  I  presume,  as  else- 
where. I  had  the  happiness  to  listen  to  it  as  it  rolled 
in  burning  tones  from  the  'God-like'  lips.  It  was 
indeed  powerful.  That  day  I  shall  never  forget. 
My  bump  of  sublimity  or  idealism  was  pretty  well 
fed.  Webster  in  the  morning  and  Edwin  Forrest 
as  Othello  in  the  evening.  Heavens!  what  a  per- 
formance. I  have  seen  that  piece  three  times  and 
could  never  tire  of  it.  I  think  it  is  truly  Forrest's 
masterpiece." 

Starr  was  devoted  to  the  drama,  and  went  six 
times  to  hear  Macready.  Concerning  Dr.  Channing, 
whose  recent  death  had  created  universal  sorrow  in 
liberal  circles,  he  writes: 

"Channing!  All  the  eulogies  that  have  been 
pronounced  upon  him  throughout  the  land  cannot  do 
justice  to  him.  The  sermon  of  Dr.  Bellows  (many 
thanks  for  it)  is  a  beautiful  performance.  I  shall 
show  it  to  Doctor  Chapin.     I  dined  with  the  last- 

['3] 


THOMAS  STARR  KING 

named  on  Sunday.  He  preached  on  last  Sabbath 
afternoon.  At  the  close  Channing  was  mentioned  in 
a  touching  and  beautiful  manner. 

"Theodore  Parker  is  lecturing  here  on  'The  Times.' 
He  is  the  immortal  Parker.  I  send  you  a  sermon  of 
his  on  Channing.  I  went  on  Tuesday  to  a  lecture 
on  elocution  by  James  E.  Murdoch.     Very  fine." 

He  wrote  long  letters  to  the  same  friend  on  phil- 
osophical topics,  explaining  and  summarizing  the 
different  schools  of  thought,  ancient  and  modern,  and 
advising  him  to  read  especially  Cousin,  Constant  and 
Jouffroy.  To  do  this  profitably  he  should  acquire 
a  reading  knowledge  of  French.  "It  will  not  take 
much  time.  In  a  few  weeks  you  could  read  quite 
fluently." 

In  1842  the  youth  of  eighteen  writes: 

"I  have  been  somewhat  troubled  of  late  by  the 
perusal  of  a  French  work  on  the  Eclecticism  of 
Cousin  and  Joufifroy  by  Pierre  Leroux.  I  had  bid 
farewell  to  the  last  of  the  immortal  dialogues  of  Plato, 
so  poetic,  so  inspiring,  so  lofty,  and  then  to  change 
for  a  work  of  the  nature  of  Leroux's  was  almost  in- 
supportable. The  'Refutation  of  Eclecticism'  is  a 
masterly  performance,  written  in  a  burning  yet  logic- 
al style,  occasionally  beautified  by  a  pounce  upon 
Cousin  personally,  which  is  done,  I  assure  you,  in 
no  very  measured  terms.  In  short  the  style  is  a  cap- 
ital exponent  of  one  of  Orestes  Brownson's  patent 
philosophers,  all  feeling  and  passion.  In  Leroux  you 
can  find  the  parentage  of  nearly  all  Brownson's  new 
opinions.  He  acknowledges  him,  I  think,  as  his 
spiritual  Godfather.     Well,  I  have  finished  the  work, 

[14] 


ANTECEDENTS  AND  EDUCATION 

and  am  now  employed  in  bringing  the  opposing  gen- 
tlemen, Cousin  and  Leroux,  to  a  reconciliation. 
Prejudice  may  account  for  much,  but  of  all  the 
writers  whose  thoughts  I  ever  had  the  pleasure  to  be- 
come familiar  with,  whether  for  the  style  in  which 
they  are  dressed  or  the  clearness  with  which  they 
convey  the  truth,  none  delights  as  Victor  Cousin." 

In  September,  1844,  he  writes: 

"The  current  of  my  earthly  existence  flows  gently 
and  calmly.  The  inner  man  also  is  serene;  resting 
trustfully  in  the  arms  of  a  glorious  faith  and  a  noble 
philosophy.  Have  you  ever  reflected  on  the  intimate 
connection  between  revelation  and  philosophy,  faith 
and  reason?  By  many  they  are  put  in  contrast,  set 
in  opposition.  Yet  they  mutually  explain  and  recip- 
rocally aid  each  other.  Faith  in  man  implies  the 
doctrine  of  the  dignity  of  human  nature.  The  doc- 
trines of  revelation  must  conform  to  the  exhibitions 
which  God  has  given  us  of  his  power,  wisdom,  glory, 
and  goodness,  through  nature  and  the  soul.  Reason, 
instead  of  being  subordinated  to  faith,  is  the  very 
essence  of  faith,  else  faith  is  a  blind  idolatry.  The 
true  faith  is  the  self-renunciation  of  reason  where 
reason  finds  that  it  can  know  no  farther.  You,  Ran- 
dolph, take  your  faith  directly  from  Christianity, 
and  apply  it  directly  to  the  condition  of  society. 
You  desire  the  social  manifestation  of  Christianity 
as  the  means  of  raising  the  individual.  I  also  find 
that  philosophy,  as  it  is  drawn  from  the  crystallized 
instruction  of  nature,  and  from  the  mysterious  depths 
of  spiritual  life,  is  confirmed  and  sanctified  by  Chris- 
tianity. I  look  rather  to  the  elevation  of  the  individ- 
ual as  one  great  means  of  improving  society.     Both 

[15] 


THOMAS  STARR  KING 

tendencies  are  necessary.  Neither  should  exclude 
the  other.  Eclecticism  is  the  motto  on  the  banner  of 
the  nineteenth  century." 

Not  always  was  his  mood  as  serene  and  cheerful 
as  this.  His  soul  had  tasted  of  the  bitterness  of 
sorrow  in  the  death  of  his  father,  the  passing  away 
of  youthful  and  beloved  friends,  and  the  disappoint- 
ment of  his  own  cherished  hopes.  "The  reality  of 
loss,"  he  wrote,  "often  oppresses  me;  exaggerated 
perhaps  by  the  imagination,  which  always  imparts 
an  ideal  hue  to  the  experiences  of  the  past  as  well 
as  the  expectations  of  the  future.  But,"  he  con- 
tinues, "I  reverence  the  great  law  of  compensation, 
even  when  it  reveals  itself  to  me  in  the  distresses  of 
the  inner  man." 

Thus,  in  the  companionship  of  books,  by  pro- 
tracted, solitary  studies,  through  daily  contact  with 
men  and  affairs,  and  the  stern  discipline  of  sor- 
row, self-denial  and  responsibility,  this  "graduate  of 
the  Charlestown  Navy  Yard,"  as  he  humorously  de- 
scribed himself,  acquired  an  education,  and  devel- 
oped a  character.  It  was  not  the  best  training  for 
everybody,  but  it  was  doubtless  sufficient  for  him, 
with  his  rare  maturity  of  powers  and  balanced  moral 
faculties.  It  is  to  be  noted  that  in  1850  Harvard 
College  admitted  the  adequacy  of  his  preparation 
by  conferring  on  Starr  King  the  honorary  degree 
of  A.M. 


[16] 


CHAPTER  II 

IN  THE  MINISTRY 

WITH  his  native  gifts  and  early  associa- 
tions it  was  natural  that  Starr  King 
should  choose  the  Christian  ministry  as 
his  permanent  vocation.  He  took  no  regular  course 
of  theological  training.  He  did  not  seem  to  require 
any.  His  early  environment  and  courses  of  study^ 
as  well  as  his  natural  gifts,  were  an  adequate  prepara- 
tion. He  carefully  trained  his  naturally  rich  and 
powerful  voice  under  the  best  instructors,  and  this, 
with  his  fine  artistic  sensibilities,  made  him  one  of 
the  most  impressive  and  beautiful  readers  and  speak- 
ers to  whom  it  has  ever  been  my  privilege  to  listen. 
At  the  age  of  twenty  he  began  to  preach,  Revs.  Dr. 
Chapin  and  Theodore  Parker  both  recommending 
him  to  parishes.  His  first  sermon  was  delivered  in 
Woburn,  Mass.  Later  he  occupied  various  pulpits 
in  Boston  and  its  suburbs,  and  also  wrote  for  theo- 
logical reviews,  meanwhile  performing  his  official 
duties  at  the  Navy  Yard  with  characteristic  precision. 
His  reports  to  his  superiors  were  models.  He  had  a 
natural  aptitude  for  figures  and  wrote  a  singularly 
graceful  and  legible  hand.  In  1846,  Dr.  Chapin  re- 
ceived and  accepted  a  call  to  a  Universalist  church 

[17] 


THOMAS  STARR  KING 

in  Boston.  This  left  the  Charlestown  pulpit  vacant, 
and  the  society  immediately  sought  Thomas  Starr 
King  for  their  minister.  After  much  hesitation  he 
accepted,  and  in  his  twenty-second  year  was  installed 
as  pastor  over  the  same  Universalist  parish  to  which 
his  father  had  ministered.  It  was  a  delicate  and 
difficult  situation,  but  he  proved  equal  to  it,  and  his 
success  as  a  preacher  and  pastor  was  immediate  and 
gratifying.  Two  years  later,  however,  he  broke 
down  with  nervous  exhaustion  and  sought  restoration 
to  health  in  a  sea-voyage  to  the  Azores.  On  his  re- 
turn, in  October,  1844,  he  accepted  a  call — once  be- 
fore made  and  refused — to  the  HoUis  Street  Uni- 
tarian Church  in  Boston.  This  transfer  to  another 
denomination,  while  in  accord  with  his  own  inclina- 
tions, caused  no  little  feeling  among  his  Universalist 
friends;  although  the  theological  differences  between 
the  two  bodies  are  very  slight,  being  mainly  a  matter 
of  emphasis.  The  one  lays  stress  on  the  fatherhood 
of  God,  the  other  on  the  innate  worth  of  the  human 
soul,  or  as  Starr  King  himself  wittily  paraphrased 
it,  "The  one  thinks  God  is  too  good  to  damn  them 
forever,  the  other  thinks  they  are  too  good  to  be 
damned  forever,"  adding  that  the  reason  the  two  sects 
had  not  long  since  united  was  that  they  were  really 
"too  near  of  kin  to  be  married." 

The  services  at  his  installation  as  pastor  of  the 
Hollis  Street  Society,  on  December  6,  1848,  were  of 
unusual  interest.  Rev.  N.  L.  Frothingham,  of  the 
First   Church   in  Boston,   offered   the  introductory 

[.8] 


IN  THE  MINISTRY 

prayer;  Dr.  Hosea  Ballou,  2nd,  read  the  Scriptures; 
Dr.  Orville  Dewey  of  New  York,  whom  he  greatly 
admired  as  a  preacher  and  man,  delivered  the  ser- 
mon; Rev.  William  R.  Alger  brought  the  fellowship 
of  the  churches;  Rev.  Cyrus  Bartol  gave  the  charge 
to  the  new  pastor;  and  Dr.  E.  H.  Chapin  the  address 
to  the  people.  These  were  all  ministers  of  superior 
merit  and  station  and  his  personal  friends. 

The  Hollis  Street  Church  was  recognized  to  be  a 
difficult  post  of  duty,  the  temperance  and  anti-slavery 
issues  which  the  former  pastor,  Rev.  John  Pierpont, 
introduced  into  the  society  by  his  drastic  preaching 
having  almost  disrupted  it.  The  new  preacher  had 
definite  convictions  on  these  subjects,  but  he  also  had 
tact,  patience  and  a  pedagogic  training.  Yet  he  did 
not  hesitate  to  speak  his  mind  on  the  topics  of  the 
hour,  as  the  titles  of  some  of  his  discourses  in  Boston 
indicate — "The  Free  Soil  Movement,"  "The  Fugi- 
tive Slave  Law,"  and  "The  Dred  Scott  Decision." 
For  eleven  years  he  remained  at  Hollis  Street  Church, 
an  earnest  preacher,  a  widely  admired,  much  beloved 
minister,  and  one  of  the  most  potent  influences  for 
good  in  the  city. 

On  his  twenty-fourth  birthday,  coincidently  with 
his  entry  on  his  eleven  years'  pastorate  at  the  Hollis 
Street  Church,  Starr  King  was  married  to  Miss  Julia 
Wiggin  of  East  Boston,  a  woman  of  personal  attrac- 
tions, social  gifts,  and  intellectuality.  His  home  be- 
came the  center  of  the  gracious  hospitality  in  which 
his   soul   delighted.     While   retaining  his   intimate 

[19] 


THOMAS  STARR  KING 

relations  with  Drs.  Ballou,  and  Chapin,  and  other 
valued  friends  of  his  earlier  life,  he  formed  new  ties 
with  eminent  thinkers  and  writers,  such  as  Drs. 
Orville  Dewey  and  Henry  W.  Bellows  of  New  York, 
Dr.  Cyrus  Bartol,  Dr.  Frederick  H.  Hedge,  Dr. 
Ezra  S.  Gannett,  Revs.  William  R.  Alger,  Edward 
Everett  Hale,  Thomas  B.  Fox,  and  many  of  the 
laity.  In  the  monthly  meetings  of  the  venerable 
Boston  Association  of  ministers  Thomas  Starr  King 
was  an  ever-welcome  guest.  No  member  contrib- 
uted more  to  the  life  of  the  proceedings.  Brought 
into  close  relations  through  his  general  culture  and 
public  lecturing  with  literary  circles  in  Boston,  in 
that  day  deemed  the  Athens  of  America,  Mr.  King 
found  congenial  companionship  and  appreciation 
among  the  authors  and  writers  of  New  England. 
His  amiability,  wit  and  modesty,  as  well  as  his  mani- 
fest abilities  as  a  thinker  and  scholar,  won  their  re- 
gard and  affection. 

Two  theological  controversies  with  orthodox  op- 
ponents brought  the  young  minister  favorably  before 
the  religious  public.  One  was  a  public  discussion 
on  ''The  Trinity"  with  Rev.  F.  H.  Huntington,  a 
prominent  Unitarian  divine  and  neighbor  who  had 
recently,  and,  as  it  was  deemed  by  many,  precipi- 
tately transferred  himself  to  the  ranks  of  the  Episco- 
palian priesthood,  and  now  sought  to  justify  his 
changed  ecclesiastical  relations  by  what  seemed  an 
equally  hasty  and  ill-considered  defense  of  the  tradi- 
tional faith  against  the  liberal  school  of  opinion  from 

[20] 


IN  THE  MINISTRY 

which  he  had  just  seceded.  Mr.  King's  discourses  in 
reply,  afterwards  put  into  permanent  form,  were  held 
to  be  masterpieces  in  argument,  scholarship,  fair- 
ness and  courtesy,  disclosing  an  aspect  of  his  abilities 
which  came  as  a  surprise  to  many  who  had  not  real- 
ized the  many-sidedness  of  the  man. 

The  other  controversy  was  with  Dr.  Nehemiah 
Adams,  a  leading  orthodox  divine  of  Boston,  on  the 
Doctrine  of  Eternal  Punishment.  Having  listened 
to  Dr.  Adams  on  this  subject,  the  young  preacher 
invited  him  to  repeat  his  discourse  in  the  Hollis 
Street  pulpit.  This  was  done,  and  to  an  overflowing 
audience.  The  two  discourses  in  which  Mr.  King 
replied  to  the  unrelenting  Calvinism  of  his  adversary 
were  greatly  admired  and  deemed  unanswerable. 

As  a  pastor  his  devotion  was  unceasing,  his  quick 
and  tender  sympathy,  his  spiritual  insight,  tact, 
and  unselfishness  qualifying  him  rarely  for  the 
delicate  and  often  difficult  relation  of  a  shepherd 
of  souls.  Meanwhile  the  poor,  the  distressed,  the 
unfortunate,  found  in  him  a  sympathizer,  adviser 
and  friend,  a  benefactor  who  gave  not  only  of  his 
means,  but  himself  to  their  need.  A  more  generous 
nature  never  breathed  the  air  of  New  England. 

Theodore  Parker  called  Starr  King  the  best 
preacher  in  Boston.  It  is  certain  that  he  had  but 
one  rival,  and  that  was  the  radical  preacher  of  the 
Music  Hall  himself.  No  clergyman  was  so  much 
sought  after  socially.  Wherever  he  went  he  was  the 
life  of  the  company,  yet  his  popularity  did  not  make 

[21] 


THOMAS  STARR  KING 

him  self-conscious  or  self-satisfied.  He  was  in  very 
truth  "The  people's  darling,  yet  unspoilt  by  praise." 

From  Starr  King's  unbroken  correspondence  with 
his  friend  Randolph  Ryer  we  obtain  an  intimate  ac- 
quaintance with  the  professional  and  personal  life 
of  the  young  minister  at  this  period  of  his  career. 
His  letters  disclose  his  thoughts  and  aims,  his  occupa- 
tions and  diversions,  his  admirations  and  friendships. 
They  reveal  the  continual  growth  of  his  mind  in 
range  and  insight,  his  increase  in  power  of  expres- 
sion, and  his  consecration  to  his  calling  and  his  kind. 
We  permit  ourselves  further  extracts  from  them. 

On  April  2nd,  1849,  he  writes  his  friend: 

"Since  I  wrote  you  last  a  project  has  been  started 
for  a  large  club  to  consist  of  free  minds  of  all  mental 
complexions  and  tendencies.  Emerson,  W.  H. 
Channing,  E.  P.  Whipple,  John  Weiss,  John  S. 
Dwight,  James  Freeman  Clarke,  etc.,  etc.  are  deeply 
interested  in  it,  and  I  think  we  shall  make  it  go,  and 
make  it  a  noble  thing  too.  We  intend  to  have  a  large 
room  or  set  of  rooms,  with  cafe  under  them,  to  pro- 
cure gradually  a  library,  to  divide  the  club  into  dif- 
ferent sections,  ethical,  scientific,  poetic,  religious, 
etc.,  and  so  have  elaborate  reports  and  discussions 
once  a  quarter.  The  preliminary  meeting  has  been 
held,  and  was  very  fully  attended.  I  was  present. 
The  next  meeting  will  be  a  week  from  to-mor- 
row. .  .  . 

"Write  and  let  me  know  what  is  going  on  in  the 
world  of  Socialism.  My  friend  Dana  ought  to  have 
stayed  in  Europe  a  little  longer;  for  the  interests  of 
harmonious  humanity  seem  to  be  ajar  since  his  power- 

[22] 


IN  THE  MINISTRY 

ful  presence  has  been  withdrawn.  .  .  .  Alcott  comes 
to  see  me  often,  and  we  have  gloriously  muddy  talks. 
He  thinks  I  am  a  splendid  fellow,  and  the  way  I 
pour  mysticism  into  him  is  a  caution.  Two  of  his 
last  Orphic  sayings  were, — 'I  find  that  everywhere 
grandmother  is  a  great  myth.'  'My  instincts  always 
are  authentic'  He  thinks  the  Devil  is  the  'Al- 
mighty's flagellant'  ...  I  am  in  fine  health  and 
spirits." 

To  the  same : 

"June  4th,  1849. 

"The  noise  and  effervescence  of  Anniversary 
Week  is  over  in  this  city.  I  attended  quite  a  number 
of  the  meetings  and  by  some  of  them  was  consider- 
ably refreshed.  It  was  not  my  fortune,  however,  to 
listen  to  any  great  speeches  or  great  speakers.  I  did 
not  hear  Wendell  Phillips,  nor  Channing,  nor  Sum- 
ner, nor  Parker.  The  most  moving  address  I  heard 
during  the  whole  week  was  made  by  the  black  man 
who  escaped  from  Richmond,  Virginia,  in  a  box 
five  feet  long,  two  wide,  and  two  deep.  It  was  sim- 
ply told,  but  had  an  immense  effect  upon  the  whole 
audience.  I  thought  while  I  listened  to  it,  how 
much  more  powerful  our  Anti-Slavery  societies 
would  be  if  they  would  confine  their  efforts  more  to 
bringing  such  men  and  such  cases  before  the  com- 
munity, and  so  try  to  make  our  northern  conscience 
feel  the  barbarity  of  slavery,  than  they  are  by  the 
methods  of  denunciation,  virulent  attacks  upon  the 
clergy  and  the  Church,  and  desperate  hostility  to  the 
Constitution  and  the  Union.  Let  them  direct  all 
their  efforts  to  exhibiting  the  curse  of  negro  bondage 
and  the  ranks  will  soon  be  swelled  by  double  the  num- 
ber of  adherents  which  they  possess  at  present.     Why 

[23] 


THOMAS  STARR  KING 

can't  our  reformers  learn  to  have  more  confidence  in 
truth,  and  less  in  human  passion.  I  wish  I  could  see 
a  party  once  that  felt  they  were  the  organs  of  im- 
measurable right,  which,  if  they  simply  proclaimed 
it  without  heat,  and  violence,  and  personal  allusion, 
would  surely  win.  It  is  hard  for  a  reformer  to  culti- 
vate humility.  It  is  not  we  that  triumph  by  our  elo- 
quence and  zeal.  It  is  the  truth  which  we  state.  It 
goes  out  on  an  impersonal  mission,  and  when  it  has 
left  our  lips  works  by  invisible  and  impersonal 
agencies.  ...  A  true  reformer  ought  not  to  expect 
very  speedy  visible  effects  from  the  words  he  utters, 
and  if  his  faith  is  religious,  he  will  see  that  to  publish 
his  truth  carelessly  and  with  personal  unconcern  is 
the  best  method  for  his  own  peace  and  health  of  mind, 
and  for  the  interests  of  righteousness  among  men." 

It  is  interesting  to  contrast  this  earlier  point  of  view 
concerning  the  proper  function  and  method  of  the 
minister,  with  Mr.  King's  later  course  in  California, 
in  which  as  a  preacher  and  popular  orator  he  ad- 
dressed himself  so  directly  and  effectively  to  the 
social  sins  and  political  misdoings  which  had  plunged 
the  nation  into  the  great  Civil  War.  Probably  he 
still  would  have  maintained  that  under  normal  social 
conditions  the  appeal  to  the  individual  reason  and 
conscience,  and  man's  general  education  in  virtue 
and  holiness,  are  the  wisest  methods  for  the  religious 
teacher  and  reformer,  but  that  in  great  crises  of  hu- 
man society  the  circumstances  and  needs  of  the  hour 
might  demand  a  more  drastic  treatment,  a  direct  at- 
tack upon  specific  evils  in  the  social  and  political 

[24] 


IN  THE  MINISTRY 

order,  the  denunciation  of  the  prophet  as  well  as  the 
pleading  of  the  apostle. 

Continuing  this  subject  a  week  later  he  wrote  his 
friend : 

"I  would  insist  as  strongly  las  any  one  on  the  right 
and  duty  of  ministers  to  act  as  reformers,  to  speak  in 
Anti-Slavery  meetings,  and  temperance  and  peace 
meetings,  if  they  have  the  power  of  popular  address. 
Let  them  act  as  Reformers  in  the  proper  sphere  for 
such  social  action.  And  in  the  pulpit  let  them  at- 
tack the  central  throne  of  sin  in  the  private  heart. 
If  I  prove  to  a  man  that  his  affections  are  inactive 
and  cold,  that  he  is  not  like  Christ,  and  can  inspire 
in  his  heart  a  sentiment  of  broad,  comprehensive 
benevolence,  am  I  not  making  him  a  Reformer?  If 
I  can  make  him  loathe  sin,  and  love  right  and  good- 
ness only,  am  I  not  leading  him  to  hate  slavery  and 
drunkenness,  which  are  only  special  forms  of  sin? 
If  I  expound  to  his  intellect,  and  win  his  heart  to 
feel  the  glory  of  the  Christian  relations  of  fellowship 
and  brotherhood,  am  I  not  effectually  aiding  the 
cause  of  peace?  If  I  lead  him  to  recognize  the 
divinity  of  self-sacrifice,  am  I  not  adding  an  instru- 
ment to  all  true  reform  agencies  in  Christendom? 
I  think  I  am,  and  besides  am  making  a  true  Christian 
in  his  heart,  while  many  reformers  only  gain  the  aid 
of  men's  votes  and  hands  to  a  Christian  work,  when 
the  hearts  of  their  allies  may  not  be  inwardly  re- 
deemed. This  is  my  view  of  the  work  of  the  Church 
— to  make  men  inwardly  Christian  by  drawing  out 
their  affections  to  what  is  pure  and  holy,  and  thus 
sending  them  as  reformatory  agencies  into  society  to 
work  whichever  way  their  active  instincts  move.  .  .  . 
My  church  can't  act  as  a  Fourierite  Committee,  nor 

[25] 


THOMAS  STARR  KING 

as  an  Anti-Slavery  Society,  but  if  I  can  send  out 
through  it  good  men  and  women  with  warm,  Chris- 
tion  affections  and  strong  religious  wills  I  aid  social 
reform  in  the  highest  way  of  which  I  am  aware." 

Certainly  Starr  King's  conception  of  the  pastoral 
office  and  mission  of  the  preacher  was  an  exalted  one, 
and  if  ever  a  minister  was  equal  to  the  moral  miracle 
of  transforming  indifference  into  fervor,  worldli- 
ness  into  character,  and  selfishness  into  service,  Starr 
King  was  that  man. 

His  next  letter  is  of  equal  interest,  treating  of  a 
problem  in  the  work  of  the  Liberal  Christian  minis- 
ter which  is  still  a  subject  of  much  discussion  and 
pondering. 

"September  loth,  1849. 
"I  exchanged  yesterday  with  Mr.  Lunt  of  Quincy, 
and  while  there,  took  tea  with  Charles  Francis 
Adams  at  the  old  family  mansion  of  John  Adams  and 
John  Quincy  Adams.  Mr.  Adams  is  quite  a  student 
of  preaching  and  preachers,  and  I  had  a  very  in- 
structive and  pleasant  conversation  with  him.  His 
wife  is  perfectly  rich  in  a  tete-a-tete.  He  com- 
plained to  me  that  Unitarian  preaching  is  too  cold, 
clear,  rational  and  explanatory.  It  is  too  moral,  and 
derives  too  little  inspiration  from  the  great  religious 
principles  of  the  New  Testament.  Everywhere 
among  the  cultivated  I  hear  the  same  complaint. 
Is  it  not  strange  that  a  system  of  theology  which  was 
constructed  to  meet  the  wants  of  the  intellect  should 
so  soon  defeat  the  very  purpose  of  its  construction  and 
cease  to  enlist  the  interest  of  the  very  faculty  for 
which  it  was  found  necessary?     The  trouble  is  not 

[26] 


IN  THE  MINISTRY 

with  the  essential  principles  of  the  system,  but  with 
the  preachers.  We  may  keep  all  our  philosophy, 
and  yet  preach  with  fervor. 

"What  intellectual  conception  is  there  so  grand 
and  elevating  as  that  the  Infinite  Being,  architect  of 
Nature,  artificer  of  suns  and  firmaments,  loves  hu- 
manity! .  .  . 

*'The  need  is  not  to  go  back  to  the  mysteries  of 
Orthodoxy,  which  paralyze  and  offend  the  intellect, 
but  to  proclaim  more  exclusively  the  great  religious 
relations  of  the  soul — the  doctrine  of  God's  paternity 
and  our  filial  ties,  and  the  spirit  of  self-sacrifice  and 
disinterested  goodness,  which  can  wake  the  ashy  life 
of  the  heart  like  a  breeze  fanning  a  coal  to  flame. 
These  are  the  essential  principles  of  Christianity: 
they  separate  it  from  philosophy:  they  will  revive 
the  world  when  the  preachers  come  who  can  ade- 
quately proclaim  them.  Mrs.  Adams  thought  the 
ministers  ought  to  'pepper'  their  sermons  more  with 
terrors,  but  her  husband  agreed  with  me." 

His  friend  Ryer  had  been  impressed  with  the  writ- 
ings of  that  brilliant  but  erratic  genius,  Orestes 
Brownson,  whose  conversion  from  extreme  radical 
religious  opinions  and  Socialistic  experimentation 
to  an  ultra  Roman  Catholicism  had  created  a  sensa- 
tion in  the  religious  world.  Starr  King  writes 
several  times  in  confutation  of  this  final  outcome  of 
Brownson's  quest  for  truth. 

"October  i,  1849. 
"Have  you  seen  the  October  no.  of  Brownson's  Re- 
view?    If  not,  get  it.     It  will  interest  you  especially 
because   it   contains   a   review   of   William   Henry 

[27] 


THOMAS  STARR  KING 

Channing's  general  creed.  The  article  is  one  of 
Brownson's  strongest.  It  is  a  capital  exercise  of 
mind  to  read  it.  And  the  first  article  in  it  is  also  a 
poser.  It  is  called:  'Protestantism  in  a  Nutshell.' 
It  is  without  exception  the  most  impudent  composi- 
tion, probably,  that  ever  saw  the  light.  After  ex- 
hausting every  form  of  invective  that  a  crazy  fancy 
can  invent,  he  brings  the  serious  charge  against 
Protestantism  that  it  insults,  and  has  always  been 
hostile  to,  human  reason;  while  the  Catholic  Church 
has  always  honored  and  employed  it!  Brownson 
ought  to  have  a  medal  for  his  ground  and  lofty 
tumbling  in  the  arena  of  logic. 

"Of  course  you  will  go  to  hear  Dr.  Dewey  on 
Wednesday  evening.  Write  me  how  you  like  him. 
.  .  .  The  affairs  of  our  society  seem  very  promising 
and  prosperous.  But  it  is  hard  work  to  rebuild  even 
in  outward  prosperity  a  broken  parish.  We  had 
very  good  audiences  yesterday,  though  the  day  was 
not  pleasant.  I  preached  two  new  sermons.  One 
from  the  text:  'Nothing  is  secret  that  shall  not  be 
made  manifest,  neither  anything  hid  that  shall  not 
be  known  and  come  abroad.'  The  subject  was  that 
all  truth  reveals  itself.  First,  it  is  intended  by  the 
Almighty  that  all  truth  in  the  sphere  of  nature  shall 
be  known  by  the  human  intellect.  It  is  hidden  a 
little,  so  that  our  faculties  are  tasked  to  detect  it,  but 
not  so  hidden  that  earnest  study  cannot  disclose  it. 
Second,  secret  truths  of  character  make  themselves 
manifest.  This  is  so  in  history.  Men  become 
known  for  what  they  are.  A  man  that  deserves  fame 
gets  it;  and  the  kind  of  fame  which  he  deserves  he 
gets.  The  secrets  of  character  reveal  themselves  un- 
consciously to  those  with  whom  we  deal.  Our  looks 
often   betray   them.     And    the   influence   we   exert, 

[28] 


IN  THE  MINISTRY 

separate  from  our  words,  tells  what  we  are.  Third, 
all  truth,  even  the  minute  secrets  of  the  moral  world, 
stands  revealed  to  God.  Fourth,  the  secrets  of  our 
lives  will  one  day  perhaps  be  terribly  revealed  to 
memory  as  a  punishment.  Fifth,  the  text  may  be  a 
prophecy  of  the  law  of  our  being  in  another  world. 
The  secrets  of  character  may  there  be  known  to  each 
other,  and  this  simple  fact  may  furnish  a  portion  of 
our  reward,  and  the  great  portion  of  our  punish- 
ment. 

"In  the  afternoon  the  subject  was:  'Thou  art  the 
man.'  " 

The  two  friends,  in  their  correspondence,  discussed 
the  merits  of  Socialism  as  a  creed  for  the  conduct 
of  life.  Ryer  was  much  inclined  to  it;  King,  though 
ever  preserving  an  open  mind,  was  less  so. 

To  the  same: 

"November  5,  1849. 
"Perhaps  you  will  consider  it  an  era  in  my  life 
that  I  met  Henry  James  (Senior)  last  Thursday  eve- 
ning at  the  Association's  Rooms  on  High  Street,  and 
heard  him  read  an  essay  on  Socialism.  I  was  de- 
lighted to  meet  him.  We  talked  some  together.  I 
like  him  as  a  man.  But  his  essay  was  irrational, 
though  very  able.  He  denied  that  there  is  any  such 
thing  as  sin,  said  that  no  law  of  God  could  be  violated, 
and  that  the  fact  of  a  violation  would  prove  that  it 
was  no  divine  law.  The  doctrine  of  free  agency  he 
considered  puerile  and  contemptible.  Yet  he  blowed 
up  the  existing  arrangements  of  society  unmercifully, 
and  showed  that  they  were  false  in  every  respect. 
Now  I  could  not  help  audaciously  querying  to  my- 

[29] 


THOMAS  STARR  KING 

self,  how  it  is  that  God's  laws  of  society  could  be 
violated  any  more  than  His  other  laws,  and  why  the 
fact  that  Socialism  is  not  triumphant  does  not  prove, 
according  to  Mr.  James'  theory,  that  it  must  be  false. 
If  no  law  of  God  can  be  violated,  then  whatever  is 
is  right;  Society  with  its  false  constitution  is,  there- 
fore it  is  right.  From  this  logical  dilemma  Mr. 
James  cannot  save  his  essay." 

To  the  same : 

"November,   1849. 

**I  preach  at  times,  and  perhaps  shall  preach  more 
freely  in  future  on  social  aspects  and  needs.  On  Fast 
Day  I  shall  speak  on  'The  Lights  and  Shadows  of 
our  Age.'  Next  Sunday  afternoon  I  shall  give  a 
lecture  on  Paul,  the  first  of  two.  But  I  must  re- 
spect the  intimations  of  the  spirit  in  my  natural 
conformation,  and  preach  generally  from  the  sponta- 
neous insights  afforded  me  into  the  truths  of  the  Gos- 
pel. 

''Yesterday  morning  I  preached  a  sermon  on  Old 
Age.  Three  very  old  and  most  exemplary  Chris- 
tians have  recently  died  here  who  were  connected 
with  our  parish,  and  I  was  moved  to  notice  it  in  that 
way.  I  took  up  the  point  that  Old  Age  is  a  period 
of  Revelation,  when  the  intrinsic  repulsiveness  and 
evil  of  sin  is  more  clearly  revealed  than  in  any  other 
stage  of  life,  and  when  the  glory  and  worth  of  re- 
ligious principles  and  graces  seem  most  powerfully 
portrayed.  If  we  would  know  what  profanity, 
avarice,  epicureanism,  bad  temper,  etc.  are,  we  must 
study  them  in  an  old  sinner,  when  they  have  in- 
wrought themselves  thoroughly  with  the  character, 
and  are  unrelieved  by  any  accidental  graces  and  neu- 

[30] 


IN  THE  MINISTRY 

tral  qualities.  If  we  would  see  the  power  and  peace 
imparted  by  Christian  faith  and  practice,  and  ob- 
serve the  Christian  graces  in  their  holiest  attire,  we 
must  study  them  in  an  old  saint  in  whom  they  trans- 
figure the  wrinkles,  and  beautify  the  tottering  steps, 
and  throw  a  halo  about  the  bleaching  hair. 

"Just  think  of  an  atheistic  childhood  and  an  infidel 
old  age  and  the  shock  given  to  our  sympathies  and 
finest  sensibilities  proclaim  that  human  nature  is 
wronged  by  such  an  hypothesis,  its  beauty  soiled,  its 
proper  symmetry  broken. 

"After  dwelling  upon  the  sanctity  which  Chris- 
tianity has  imparted  to  old  age,  the  sermon  treated 
fully  of  the  adaptation  of  Christian  principles  and 
promises  to  the  special  needs  of  the  aged,  and  how 
weak  and  miserable  an  old  person,  in  whom  the  best 
feelings  are  not  withered,  would  be  without  their 
support.  The  discourse  was  closed  with  a  picture 
of  the  glory  of  old  age  as  the  Bible  reveals  it  in  the 
aged  saints  its  pages  portray — Abraham,  Moses  on 
Mount  Pisgah,  Samuel  in  the  decline  of  life,  David 
waking  the  penitential  tremors  of  his  harp  with  fail- 
ing fingers,  Simeon  in  the  temple,  John  the  Apostle 
when  a  hundred  years  old,  Paul  the  aged  ready  to  be 
ofifered  after  the  good  fight  of  faith. 

"Last  night  Julia  and  I  went  to  hear  the  oratorio 
of  the  Creation  for  the  second  time  this  season.  It 
was  only  second  to  the  original  Creation  by  the  Om- 
nipotent. I  think  it  is  the  richest  piece  of  music  one 
can  hear.  Its  waves  of  melody  roll  over  the  spirit 
like  floods  of  ethereal  joy  from  the  New  Jerusalem. 
I  grow  more  and  more  impressible  to  music.  A  few 
years  ago  it  was  a  blank  to  me.  Now  a  sixth  sense 
is  opened." 

[31] 


THOMAS  STARR  KING 

After  a  long  and  serious  illness  Mr.  King  wrote 
his  friend: 

"February,  1850. 

"I  am  quite  well  again  with  the  exception  of  a 
little  hoarseness.  I  lecture  to-night  in  Methuen,  talk 
in  the  Bible-Class  an  hour  to-morrow  night,  address 
the  Mercantile  Library  Association  Wednesday  eve- 
ning, and  lecture  in  Brookline  on  Thursday.  Yes- 
terday I  preached  three  times — in  the  afternoon  on 
'Samson,  or  Waste  of  Powers.'  I  like  it  better  than 
any  sermon  I  ever  wrote. 

"Next  week  I  am  to  be  engaged  in  preparing  a 
sermon  on  'Life,  a  Trust,  a  Discipline,  an  Achieve- 
ment,' to  be  preached  on  Sunday  evening  as  one  of 
a  course  in  the  Bedford  Street  Church.  I  shall  try 
to  make  it  the  best  I  ever  wrote,  for  certainly  the 
subject  is  magnificent.  In  the  morning  I  am  to 
preach  before  the  students  and  professors  of  Harvard 
College — a  trying  service." 

To  the  same: 

"April  I,  1850. 

"I  have  just  left  the  Supreme  Court  Room,  and 
heard  what  I  never  heard  before,  the  sentence  of 
death  pronounced  on  a  prisoner.  Chief  Justice  Shaw 
completed  the  terrible  drama  that  has  thrilled  every 
one  here  for  the  last  few  weeks,  by  the  solemn  words 
of  judgment  upon  Professor  Webster.  I  cannot  say 
anything  in  relation  to  it.  It  was  awful  in  the  ex- 
treme. God  save  him,  for  his  family's  sake,  from 
the  scaffold!  Yesterday  morning  I  preached  in  the 
college  chapel  at  Cambridge,  where  Professor  Web- 
ster attended  church.  It  wrung  my  nerves  beyond 
anything  I  ever  experienced  in  the  pulpit," 

[32] 


IN  THE  MINISTRY 

On  his  return  from  his  summer  vacation  at  the  end 
of  July,  1850,  spent  among  his  beloved  White  Moun- 
tains and  at  Rockland,  by  the  sea,  he  writes  to  the 
companion  of  his  journeys: 

"I  presume  you  got  home  safely.  But  how  do  you 
bear  business  again?  For  myself,  I  am  homesick 
already,  and  long  to  be  again  among  the  mountain 
peaks.  Isn't  your  mind  also  stored  with  rich  images 
of  Lake  Winnepiseogee  and  Red  Hill,  and  North 
Conway,  with  Mt.  Kearsarge,  and  the  ride  to  Old 
Crawford's  and  the  Willey  House  and  Mt.  Willard, 
and  Tom  the  Mountaineer  that  saw  the  Transfigura- 
tion, and  caught  a  deer  by  the  horns  and  opened  its 
jugular  vein  with  a  penknife!  And  Mt.  Washington 
and  the  gullies,  the  Old  Man  of  the  Mountains,  and 
Echo  Lake,  and  the  bath  in  the  Pemigewasset,  and 
that  divine  walk,  and  the  basin  where  that  poor  stick 
still  waltzes  round,  and  the  Flume!  O  Randolph, 
shall  we  ever  have  another  such  walk  as  that?  I 
fear  not  this  side  of  Jordan.  There  must  be  grand 
mountain  scenery  in  Heaven.  I  hope  we  shall  see 
it  together — if  I  am  found  worthy.  In  my  musings 
it  seems  as  if  North  Conway  might  be  the  entrance 
gate  to  Paradise.  .  .  .  You  know,  I  presume,  that  I 
am  now  an  A.M.,  by  the  grace  of  Harvard  College. 
Only  think  of  it.  Wonder  when  I  shall  be  P.M. 
Probably  not  till  after  the  meridian  of  life." 

Mr.  King  was  exquisitely  sensitive  to  Beauty  in 
all  its  forms,  particularly  so  to  the  art  of  music,  which 
had  not  disclosed  its  full  charm  and  delight  to  him 
until  this  stage  of  his  development.  In  October, 
1850,  he  writes  his  soul-friend: 

r33] 


THOMAS  STARR  KING 

"I  have  heard  Jenny  Lind.  Five  times  in  all  I 
have  listened  to  the  inspired  Swede,  thanks  to  her 
manager  P.  T.  Barnum's  kindness.  What  shall  I  say 
of  her  singing?  She  put  her  voice  underneath  the 
vast  audience  and  fairly  lifted  them  up  on  its  sea- 
like swells,  and  tossed  them  like  toys  upon  the  crests 
and  sparkling  foam  of  her  warbles  and  trills  and 
ornaments.  The  whole  orchestra  accompaniment  at 
times  was  as  nothing  to  her  flood  of  easy,  revelling 
melody,  and  it  seemed  as  if  the  stars  must  be  moved 
at  last  to  pipe  out  again  in  chorus,  and  all  the  sons 
of  God  shout  for  joy.  ...  I  have  never  before  ap- 
preciated music,  never  conceived  the  glory  and  sweet- 
ness of  the  human  voice,  never  understood  the  capac- 
ity of  music  to  bear  the  burden  of  great  sentiments, 
and  interpret,  by  a  cadence  or  a  single  note,  a  truth 
as  broad  as  the  universe  and  deep  as  the  soul." 

To  the  same : 

^'October  29,  1850. 

"I  preached  in  Concord  on  Sunday.  The  great 
Transcendentalist,  Ralph  W.  Emerson  was  at  church 
in  the  afternoon.  In  the  evening  I  took  tea  in  com- 
pany with  him  and  passed  a  portion  of  yesterday 
morning  in  his  study.  I  enjoyed  seeing  him,  as  al- 
ways, and  on  some  points  we  had  a  good  talk.  He 
belongs  in  the  same  cabinet  of  Nature's  Jewels  with 
Plato  and  Jenny  Lind.  Plato  the  ruby,  Emerson 
the  white,  cold,  flashing  diamond,  Jenny  Lind  the 
pearl.  ...  I  shall  commence  writing  my  lecture  on 
Socrates  this  week." 

Filling  an  important  pastorate  in  a  great  city,  the 
young  minister  was  daily  brought  into  contact  with 
the  moral  and  social  problems  of  urban  life,  and 

[34] 


IN  THE  MINISTRY 

the  responsibility  of  the  more  favored  and  privileged 
classes  to  ameliorate  the  evils,  and  equalize  the  con- 
ditions of  the  existing  order  of  society. 

"April  28,   1851. 

"A  splendid  present,  my  friend,  those  volumes  of 
Fourier!  I  delight  to  look  at  them.  The  first  lei- 
sure day  or  two  I  have  shall  be  thoroughly  pledged 
to  Fourier,  and  I  will  make  faithful  report  to  you. 
As  yet,  you  know,  I  have  not  read  a  line  of  his  writ- 
ings. 

"What  a  day's  work  I  had  yesterday!  Spoke  to 
the  Sunday  School  in  the  morning,  preached  a  long 
Easter  sermon,  delivered  a  lecture  of  an  hour  and  a 
quarter  in  the  afternoon  on  Paul  as  a  writer,  and 
made  an  address  in  the  evening  at  the  Warren  Street 
Chapel  of  nearly  half  an  hour.  You  would  have 
been  satisfied  with  the  dispensation  yesterday,  I  think, 
for  in  the  morning  I  gave  the  people  Christianized 
Science,  and  in  the  evening  Christianized  Social- 
ism. The  sensual  objections  to  the  idea  of  immor- 
tality was  the  theme  in  the  forenoon,  ...  a  glorious 
meeting  we  had  in  the  evening.  It  would  have  filled 
your  soul,  and  given  you  a  foretaste  of  the  millenium. 
Robert  C.  Winthrop  presided,  and  made  a  most  ele- 
gant and  noble  speech.  It  was  Christian  duty  set 
to  music.  I  moved  the  adoption  of  the  Report  of  the 
doings  of  the  Chapel  for  the  past  year.  Let  me  give 
you  one  passage  from  the  speech,  of  which  I  wrote 
the  heads  before  I  went.  The  time  has  come  when, 
as  a  Christian  community,  we  must  either  openly  re- 
ject, or  ingrain  with  our  conscience,  the  truth — 'we 
that  are  strong  ought  to  bear  the  infirmities  of  the 
weak,  and  not  to  please  ourselves,  for  Christ  pleased 
not  himself.'     Not  only  in  His  word  does  God  call 

[35] 


THOMAS  STARR  KING 

on  us  to  obey  this  law,  but  also  by  unveiling  to  us,  as 
in  fiery  hieroglyphics,  the  visible  necessity  of  obey- 
ing it.  The  question  of  absorbing  interest  to  society 
itself  is  this — how  shall  the  Church,  which  contains 
the  regenerative  principles  of  truth,  be  brought  from 
its  serene  and  comfortable  elevation  into  redeeming 
contact  with  the  streets,  lanes,  and  cellars  of  the 
world,  with  the  Pariah  caste  of  society  in  our 
modern  cities,  with  the  uncivilizing  elements  of  our 
civilization,  with  this  wide  chaos  of  irresponsible 
and  neglected  vice,  that  lies  outside  our  order  and 
threatens  to  engulf  it.  The  question  is  shall  our  light 
encroach  upon  the  shadows  and  dispel  them,  or  shall 
the  shadows  absorb  the  light?  If  we  will  not  take 
up  this  problem  of  pauperism  and  ignorance  in  the 
large  spirit  of  Christian  duty  and  love,  and  consider, 
through  some  constructive  methods  the  rights  of  the 
poor,  it  will  be  pressed  upon  our  self-interest  as  in- 
volving the  existence,  or  at  least  the  health  of  society. 
God  is  showing  us,  by  uncovering  the  horrors  in  our 
large  centres  of  civilization,  and  the  efifects  they  are 
producing  upon  our  welfare,  that  in  the  very  warp 
of  the  social  fabric  is  woven  the  law — 'Whether  one 
member  suffer  all  the  members  sufifer  with  it'  .  .  . 
Directly  those  classes  cannot  get  the  life,  truth,  hopes 
and  life  of  the  Gospel.  It  must  go  from  us,  the  more 
favored,  who  have  our  hands  upon  the  great  electric 
force,  and  by  touching  them,  convey  to  them  its 
blessed  and  enlivening  stream.  Especially  in  this 
country,  with  our  theory  of  the  State,  should  we  ear- 
nestly consider  this  social  problem.  Our  lower 
classes  clutch  the  ballot-box,  and  we  are  indissolubly 
united  with  them  in  our  interests  and  our  life.  They 
are  every  way  bone  of  our  bone.  Our  highest  classes, 
like  the  apex  of  a  pyramid,  are  lifted  up  from  the 

[36] 


IN  THE  MINISTRY 

broader  base  gradually  widening  below.  What  hope 
is  there  for  us,  if  that  base  is  rotting  at  its  lowest  tier, 
or  slumping  in  a  moral  marsh?  Will  the  pyramid 
stand  with  such  insecurity  of  foundation,  with  such 
chemistry  gnawing  the  bottom  of  its  structure?  It 
is  safer,  in  our  land,  to  have  atheistic  scholars  than  an 
atheistic,  barbarous  people;  as  it  is  safer  for  any 
frame  to  have  diseased  or  blinded  eyes  than  a  canker 
spot  on  the  heart" 

Mr.  King's  letters  during  these  early  years  of  his 
Boston  ministry  disclose  the  new  gained  happiness  of 
his  wedded  and  home  life  and  the  brighter  aspects  of 
his  residence  in  Boston.  Their  summer  vacations 
were  spent  at  the  seaside  and  the  mountains. 

"Pigeon  Cove,  August  19,  1851. 
"Would  you  could  know  the  perfect  accord  here 
of  the  country  and  the  sea.  Rev.  Mr.  Bartol  and 
family  are  here  as  usual,  so  that  delightful  and  ele- 
vating companionship  completes  the  circle  of  rich 
and  reviving  influences.  We  do  a  little  reading. 
De  Quincey's  new  book,  'Life  and  Manners,'  Ruskin's 
'Seven  Lamps  of  Architecture,'  a  fine  book  on  Paul's 
Letters  to  the  Corinthians  by  Rev.  J.  H.  Thom  of 
Liverpool,  some  reviews,  and  an  excellent  volume 
called  'Companions  of  My  Solitude,'  by  an  English 
lawyer,  make  up  my  stock  of  literary  exercises." 

The  following  summer,  1852,  he  is  again  at  Cape 
Ann,  where  in  subsequent  years  a  portion  of  his  vaca- 
tion season  was  almost  invariably  spent. 

"It  is  glorious  here.  Would  you  could  see  our 
horizon  line  of  ocean  and  take  a  promenade  with  us 

[37] 


THOMAS  STARR  KING 

in  the  woods.  Our  church  is  closed  for  four  Sundays 
and  I  have  entire  rest.  Mr.  Bartol  is  with  us,  serene 
and  mellifluous  as  ever.  He  preached  gloriously  last 
Sunday.  I  hold  forth  to-day.  Chapin  is  here  and 
is  boiling  over  with  fun,  recasting  language  in  all 
shapes  of  pun-gency." 

Writing  in  September  following  he  tells  of  preach- 
ing two  sermons  on  the  recent  Railway  Jubilee  in 
Boston,  discourses  which  were  printed  and  rapidly 
taken.  Theodore  Parker,  whose  own  church  serv- 
ices were  suspended  because  of  repairs  in  the  edifice, 
was  present  at  both  the  morning  and  evening  services. 

In  January,  1852,  his  first  child,  Edith,  was  born, 
an  occasion  that  brought  great  joy  to  the  household. 
His  friend  Ryer  also  was  happily  married,  and  the 
two  friends  exchanged  their  congratulations  and  kind 
wishes. 

"March  5th,  1852. 

"Last  week  was  another  season  of  hard  work. 
Lectured  on  Monday  night  at  Dorchester,  Tuesday 
in  New  Bedford,  Wednesday  in  my  vestry,  Thurs- 
day at  Salem,  Friday  at  Newburyport,  and  on  Satur- 
day went  to  hear  the  Oratorio  of  St.  Paul,  one  of  the 
greatest  of  Mendelssohn's  compositions.  One  lives 
an  age  during  the  two  hours  and  a  half  that  such 
music  sweeps  the  strings  of  the  soul.  I  was  so  ill 
that  I  could  hardly  hold  up  my  head  when  I  went 
to  the  Concert,  but  sat  through  the  whole,  though  it 
was  the  third  time  I  had  heard  it  this  season.  I  was 
hardly  strong  enough  to  preach  yesterday,  having  a 
cold  on  all  the  nerves,  but  got  through  the  two  serv- 
ices of  the  day." 

[38] 


IN  THE  MINISTRY 

"April  1 2th,  1852. 
''Last  week  I  wrote  two  sermons,  one  for  Fast  Day 
on  Public  Sentiment,  in  which  I  opened  distinctly 
on  slavery,  much  to  the  delight  of  Rev.  Dr.  Fran- 
cis, head  of  the  Cambridge  Divinity  School,  who 
was  present  and  said,  'God  bless  you  for  that  dis- 
course!' " 

A  warm  admirer  of  the  philosophic  thinker,  James 
Martineau  of  England,  Mr.  King, 'in  1852,  edited  a 
volume  of  selected  essays  by  his  pen  under  the  title 
"Miscellanies,"  the  first  American  reprint  of  any  of 
his  writings.  He  also  collaborated  with  his  friend 
William  Rounseville  Alger  in  the  republication  of 
other  of  his  books. 

Efforts  were  made  to  induce  the  young  minister  to 
accept  the  vacant  Unitarian  pulpit  in  Brooklyn,  New 
York.  Born  in  the  latter  city,  Mr.  King  always  had 
a  strong  affection  for  it,  and  by  repeated  visits  had 
made  many  friends  and  become  as  well  known  in  the 
great  metropolis  of  American  life  as  in  Boston  itself. 
In  January,  1853,  he  writes: 

"As  to  church  matters — poor  Brooklyn!  Unfor- 
tunate Chauncy  Place!  Happy  Hollis  Street!  It 
is  all  settled.  Last  night  capped  the  climax.  The 
people  at  Hollis  Street  won't  listen  to  my  going. 
More  than  forty  pews  have  been  sold,  our  debt  has 
been  paid.  We  shall  have  funds  over.  They  raise 
my  salary  to  $3000,  and  will  build  a  new  and  hand- 
some pulpit  and  otherwise  improve  the  church. 
This  will  stop  my  miscellaneous  lecturing,  except 
when  the  fee  is  $50.     Isn't  that  doing  bravely?     I 

[39] 


THOMAS  STARR  KING 

shall  stay.     Yet  my  heart  yearns  towards  Brooklyn. 
If  I  could  I  should  have  gone  to  them." 

"March  14,  1853. 
"We  were  quite  disappointed,  I  assure  you,  that 
your  letter  only  and  not  yourself  arrived  on  Satur- 
day. Little  Petty  was  not  reconciled  to  the  arrange- 
ment. She  could  not  read  the  epistle,  but  she  could 
have  had  a  good  time  with  you  and  had  made  up  her 
mind  for  a  grand  frolic.  She  never  has  been  so  good 
and  cunning  as  yesterday,  partly  because  it  was  her 
birthday  (13  months  old),  and  partly  because  she 
expected  you  and  meant  to  have  a  jubilee.  You  must 
come  this  week  or  her  little  nerves  won't  stand  the 
shock.  .  .  .  Bless  her  delicious  heart!  She's  playing 
on  my  study  floor,  now  while  I  write,  and  chirping 
with  delight  as  sweetly  as  the  spring  birds  sang  by 
our  own  windows  yesterday  morning — forty  of  them 
in  a  row — the  first  gush  of  spring!" 

His  love  of  music  and  the  drama  continued  to  pro- 
vide him  with  opportunities  for  relaxation  and  artis- 
tic enjoyment  which  did  much  to  ease  the  strain  of 
his  professional  life. 

"May  2nd,  1853. 
"I  have  been  engaged  in  opera-ting.  Not  in  stocks 
but  on  benches  in  the  Howard  Athenaeum. 
Madame  Sontag's  opera  troupe  is  in  Boston.  Some 
kind  friend  has  sent  us  tickets  thus  far  for  every  per- 
formance, and  I  have  attended  six  times,  four  times 
with  Julia.  It  has  been  a  great  treat.  We  have 
never  had  an  opera  troupe  that  has  done  everything 
so  well,  that  has  given  us  such  a  complete  artistic 
whole,  and  finished  ofif  the  minor  effects,  such  as  dress, 

[40] 


IN  THE  MINISTRY 

position,  scenery,  chorus  and  subordinate  parts  so 
elaborately.  And  then  Madame  Sontag's  voice,  so 
clear,  so  bright,  so  cheerful,  so  perfectly  cultivated, 
is  like  a  sheaf  of  sun-rays,  fluted  and  nodding  w^ith 
Corinthian  luxury  and  grace.  O  that  I  understood 
music  as  a  science!  It  is  the  most  subtle  and  mighty 
vehicle  of  expression,  and  perhaps  is  the  rudiment 
of  the  speech  through  w^hich  our  souls  are  to  gain 
and  utter  vs^isdom  in  the  w^orld  to  come." 

"March  28,  1853. 
"Preached  tv^ice  in  the  Harvard  College  Chapel 
yesterday.  I  didn't  enjoy  it  at  all.  Dined  with  Dr. 
Walker,  president  of  the  college,  and  had  a  glorious 
nooning  with  him.  He  never  heard  me  in  the  pulpit 
before  and  said  that  I  preached  better  than  he  had 
expected.  ...  I  am  to  lecture  before  the  Benevolent 
Fraternity  of  Churches  on  behalf  of  the  Ministry  at 
Large.  Last  Saturday  night  the  Germanians  gave  a 
superb  concert,  the  best  of  the  season.  A  Portland 
paper  recently  made  an  attack  on  my  style  of  lectur- 
ing, which  drew  out  a  beautiful  reply  from  an  artist 
of  that  city,  very  complimentary." 

In  a  more  serious  vein  he  writes  his  friend,  on 
entering  the  thirtieth  year  of  his  life: 

"January  ist,  1854. 
"How  ominous  that  figure  (18 154)  looks!  We  are 
fast  getting  to  be  old  fogies,  Randolph.  Fourteen 
years  since  we  first  met!  What  changes,  what 
growths  of  mind,  what  slippings  away  from  old  moor- 
ings, what  scootings  out  from  narrow  circumstances 
and  little  lakes  of  experience  into  wider  bays,  to- 
wards the  great  sea!     Little  did  I  imagine,  fourteen 

[4'] 


THOMAS  STARR  KING 

years  ago,  that  I  should  ever  have  such  a  position  of 
trust  in  the  world  as  Providence  has  gently  lifted  me 
up  to,  by  the  easiest  inclined  plane  oif  continuous  ac- 
cident. But  here  I  am,  a  little  wiser  than  then,  with 
some  serious  purpose,  I  believe,  hidden  somewhere 
in  my  bosom,  with  some  little  gratitude,  I  trust,  to- 
wards Providence  that  has  done  for  me  so  much  better 
than  I  deserve,  and  with  a  love  for  a  few  old  friends 
which  I  hope  the  year  1874,  if  it  sees  me  here,  will 
find  only  riper,  and  which,  I  pray,  may  be  perfected, 
if  we  shall  then  have  passed  on. 

"You,  Randolph,  always  believed  that  I  would 
come  to  something,  when  I  did  not  dream  that  I  had 
the  capacity  for  adorning  any  pedestal.  Your  attach- 
ment has  been  a  great  comfort  to  me;  your  friendship 
has  been  pure  enough  to  be  accounted  a  choice  privi- 
lege in  any  life.  Your  household  and  William 
C 's  belong  to  the  selected  circle  around  the  fire- 
side of  my  heart.  God  bless  you  with  a  happy  New 
Year! 

"As  to  presents.  Such  a  New  Year's  present  as  I 
have  had!  Champney's  great  picture  of  the  White 
Mountains !  And  who  could  send  me  such  a  princely 
gift  but  that  glorious  Mr.  Thaxter.  He  made  the 
church  a  New  Year's  gift  of  a  christening  font  of 
marble.  Exquisite.  You  have  no  idea  how  su- 
perbly our  church  looks  now  (since  extensive  im- 
provements)." 

To  the  same : 

"February  13,   18154. 

"Pet  is  two  years  old  to-day.  How  much  enjoy- 
ment we  have  had  with  her  these  two  short  years! 
People  talk  of  the  indebtedness  of  children  to  parents, 
our  debt  is  the  other  way.     Pet  has  done  more  for  us 

[42] 


IN  THE  MINISTRY 

than  we  for  her.  There  is  great  beauty  in  the  old 
prophecy  of  the  triumph  of  righteousness  on  the 
earth — ^'and  a  little  child  shall  lead  them.'  It  tells 
of  a  time  when  domestic  life  shall  be  the  brightest, 
and  the  joy  and  wisdom  of  mature  natures  shall  flow 
from  the  training  of  childhood. 

"Last  evening  I  spent  with  Bayard  Taylor  at  E.  P. 
Whipple's.  Bayard  came  to  hear  me  preach  yester- 
day morning,  and  said  he  was  glad  once  to  hear  a 
sermon  that  he  could  agree  with.  We  had  a  glorious 
time  last  evening  talking  of  the  Himalayas,  the  des- 
ert, the  Nile,  Etna,  Gibraltar  and  the  Arabs.  He  is 
delightful." 

To  the  same : 

"March  19,  1854. 

"This  morning  I  preached  on  Liberal  Christianity 
as  a  positive  faith,  showing  that  all  the  positive  ele- 
ments which  can  belong  to  a  religion  are  in  ours, 
if  preachers  only  have  vitality  enough  to  make  them 
glow.  It  produced  quite  an  impression  on  our  peo- 
ple. O  that  we  might  wake  them  up  to  a  feeling 
of  the  rich  elements  our  faith  contains,  so  that  this 
weak,  compromising  twaddle  would  be  banished 
from  the  pulpit  and  press.  Dr.  Orville  Dewey  is 
to  preach  in  our  church  this  evening  before  the  Young 
Men's  Christian  Union.  I  had  a  very  pleasant  talk 
with  him  yesterday.  He  is  noble  and  sound  in  re- 
ligious thought.  I  like  his  views  and  Martineau's 
better  than  those  of  any  living  men  I  know.  I  see 
light  ahead — am  almost  out  of  the  thicket  of  lectures. 
Two  more  and  I  am  free. 

"P.  S.  I  am  just  come  from  hearing  Dr.  Dewey. 
It  was  grand.     He  is  a  sentimental  Webster.     His 

[43] 


THOMAS  STARR  KING 

subject  was  the  Worth  of  Virtue.  It  was  compre- 
hensive, practical,  poetical,  tender  and  majestic.  It 
took  hold  of  me.     Preaching  is  the  great  business." 

Starr  King  was  not  among  the  foremost  of  Anti- 
Slavery  agitators.  His  youth  and  gentleness  of  na- 
ture, as  well  as  his  views  on  the  methods  and  mission 
of  the  ministry  precluded  this,  yet  how  deeply  his 
sympathies  were  enlisted  on  this  side,  and  what  ad- 
mirable service  he  rendered  is  shown  by  the  following 
letter: 

"June  12,  1854. 

"I  didn't  write  you  last  Monday,  for  I  was  used  up 
after  the  great  week  of  excitement  in  anniversaries 
and  fugitive-slaveism. 

''The  slave  excitement  here  was  intense.  I  never 
knew  such  a  stirring  up,  such  inward  gnashing  of 
teeth.  We  were  under  martial  law  on  Friday,  and  it 
turns  out  illegally  so,  and  if  anybody  had  been  shot 
by  the  troops,  the  soldiers  would  have  been  liable  for 
murder.  The  indignation  is  very  deep  against  the 
mayor,  and  that  poor  Burns,  by  marching  down  State 
Street  at  noon  under  military  guard,  made  more  Abo- 
litionists than  Parker  and  Phillips  have  made  in  a 
year. 

"The  Sunday  after  the  slave  capture  the  churches 
were  vocal  with  strong  preaching.  Hunkers  were 
in  great  distress,  having  no  rest  for  the  soles  of  their 
feet.  I  preached  on  the  arrest,  trial  and  condemna- 
tion of  Jesus,  and  the  features  of  it  as  a  judicial  pro- 
cess which  have  made  it  infamous  in  after  times.  It 
made  a  great  stir.  The  features  of  the  trial  corre- 
spond most  wonderfully  to  that  of  poor  Burns.  The 
character  of  the  evidence  on  which  Jesus  was  con- 

[44] 


IN  THE  MINISTRY 

demned,  the  manner  of  his  arrest,  the  unsuccessful 
attempt  at  rescue,  the  conspiracy  of  the  two  sets  of 
officers — the  city  authorities  of  Jerusalem,  and  Pilate, 
the  commissioner  of  Rome,  the  Court  Room  filled 
with  brutal  scamps,  the  efforts  to  release  Jesus,  and 
the  refusal  because  Caesar  would  be  offended,  the 
Condemnation,  which  in  Jerusalem  was  on  Friday 
morning,  at  9  o'clock  (just  the  same  as  in  Boston) 
the  military  escort  to  the  place  of  execution,  the  giv- 
ing of  a  new  robe  to  Jesus  (here  they  gave  Burns  a 
new  suit  before  he  left) ,  and  the  triumph  of  the  new 
religion  because  of  that  brutal  show  in  the  Passover 
Anniversary  Week  in  Jerusalem — made  a  picture 
that  delighted  the  majority  of  the  parish  and  quite 
enraged  the  Hunker  brethren.  Some  threatened  to 
leave,  etc.,  but  they  were  all  out  yesterday,  and  I 
guess  I  shall  triumph." 

A  pleasant  picture  of  Mr.  King's  friendships  and 
literary  pre-occupations  at  this  period  is  given  in  a 
letter  to  Rev.  William  Rounseville  Alger,  the  author- 
divine  of  Boston. 

"Pigeon  Cove,  Rockport, 
"August  I,  1854. 
"My  Dear  Alger: 

\  meant  to  write  you,  in  reply  to  your  kind  and 
welcome  note,  before  I  left  here  for  Down  East,  but 
procrastinated  and  failed.  I  have  just  returned. 
Loammi  Ware  was  ordained  last  Wednesday.  I 
took  part.  Dr.  Bellows  was  there,  preached  only 
so  so,  but  personally,  spherically,  conversationally, 
was  glorious.  We  had  a  rich  time  together.  Some- 
how we  fit  handsomely.  His  railroad  talk,  going 
down,  was  brilliant  and  inspiring  to  a  degree  I  have 

[45] 


THOMAS  STARR  KING 

never  known  equalled.  About  Robert  Schuyler, 
who  was  his  parishioner,  he  monologued  as  wonder- 
fully as  De  Quincey.  Ware  has  a  difficult  post 
Sylvester  Judd's  daguerreotype  is  in  every  heart  in 
Augusta,  and  the  spirit  of  his  thoughts  in  all  their 
souls. 

"After  leaving  Augusta  I  went  to  the  White  Moun- 
tains and  Dixville  Notch  with  James  T.  Fields.  The 
weather  was  splendid  and  we  had  an  unsurpassable 
time.  I  want  once  to  take  you  on  the  Eastern  side 
and  taste  the  scenery,  mesmerically,  through  your 
delight.     We  must  do  it  another  season. 

"On  the  way  I  read  Thoreau's  'Walden'  in  an  ad- 
vance copy.  The  first  half  disappointed  me  as  being 
poorer  than  'Concord  and  Merrimac'  But  the 
latter  half  is  wonderful;  the  chapter  on  'Spring,' 
'Winter  Animals,'  with  a  description  of  squirrels,  the 
'Conclusion'  being  more  weird  and  winding  farther 
into  the  awful  vitalities  of  nature  than  any  writing 
I  have  yet  seen.  I  envy  you  your  approaching  rap- 
ture. Alas,  I  left  my  copy  in  the  cars.  I  have  read 
Hurlburt's  'Gan  Eden,'  on  Cuba;  it  is  written  with 
honey  instead  of  ink." 

In  the  spring  of  1855  ^^  hear  for  the  first  time  of 
a  literary  project.  "Would  that  I  could  study  more 
and  write  less!  I  am  at  work  on  a  book  to  interpret 
the  landscape  of  the  White  Hills."     He  tells  us  also: 

"I  have  been  looking  into  spirit  rappings  again, 
somewhat.  The  spectres  seem  to  be  more  powerful 
than  they  were.  Some  of  the  developments  are  really 
wonderful.  Such  antics  as  I  have  seen  with  pianos 
and  tables !     Hard  to  account  for  except  on  the  theory 

[46] 


IN  THE  MINISTRY 

of  an  outskirt  of  imps  let  loose  over  the  border  of 
the  spiritual  world." 

Later  experiences  made  him  sceptical  of  any  spirit- 
ual content  in  such  "manifestations."  As  a  member 
of  a  committee  of  investigation,  headed  by  Professor 
Agassiz  and  other  scientists,  he  became  disillusion- 
ized. When  one  medium,  who  caused  lurid  written 
messages  to  appear  on  his  arm,  was  found  to  have 
employed  phosphorus  in  their  production,  Starr 
King  ruefully  remarked,  "It  only  resulted  in  'fuss- 
for-us.'  " 

The  unveiling  of  the  Benjamin  Franklin  statue 
in  Boston,  his  birthplace,  September  14,  1856,  on 
which  occasion  Dr.  E.  H.  Chapin  delivered  an  ora- 
tion, was  followed  by  a  supper  at  Starr  King's  house 
with  Chapin,  E.  P.  Whipple,  James  T.  Fields,  and 
Daniel  Haskell,  editor  of  the  Boston  Transcript, 
among  the  guests.  We  can  image  the  cheer  and 
wit  of  the  occasion.  This  was  only  one  of  a  long 
succession  of  such  hospitalities.  In  November,  1857, 
Mr.  King  invited  a  company  of  his  friends  to  meet 
Charles  Mackay,  the  English  reformer  and  poet,  at 
a  breakfast.  Drs.  Bellows,  Hedge  and  Bartol, 
Whipple,  James  T.  Fields,  George  Sumner,  talented 
brother  of  the  statesman  Charles  Sumner,  William 
R.  Alger  and  William  B.  Green  were  among  the 
guests.  "It  was  a  brilliant  three  hours,"  writes  Starr 
King. 

Starr  King's  public  attitude  on  the  subject  of  Anti- 
Slavery  became  more  and  more  pronounced.     Thus 

[47] 


THOMAS  STARR  KING 

at  the  opening  of  a  series  of  lectures  on  slavery  de- 
livered in  Boston  in  the  winter  of  1856  he  read — with 
what  effectiveness  we  can  imagine — Whittier's  some- 
what lengthy  poem  "The  Panorama,"  a  powerful  ar- 
raignment of  both  the  Northern  and  Southern  States 
for  their  course  with  regard  to  the  national  sin  of 
slavery. 

To  his  friend  Ryer  he  writes : 

"April  4,  1857. 
"Boston  is  in  full  bloom  intellectually.  Whipple 
is  lecturing  twice  a  week  on  the  literary  men  of 
Shakespeare's  time.  They  are  marvellous  lectures. 
I  attend  them  all,  and  feel  that  is  a  great  privilege. 
Emerson  also  lectures  on  Wednesday  evenings.  I 
go  to  them  also.  They  are  very  interesting,  but  not 
up  to  his  tide-line.  Beecher  is  to  be  here.  Tuesday 
night  he  will  trot  out  the  ghost  of  Burns.  Thursday 
night  Winthrop  lectures.  And  we  have  been  enjoy- 
ing great  music.  Moreover,  I  am  working  hard  on 
my  White  Mountain  book.  It  is  well  along.  They 
want  me  to  settle  in  Chicago  and  offer  a  new  church 
and  $5000  salary.     I  seriously  think  of  going." 


[48] 


CHAPTER  III 

ON  THE  LECTURE  PLATFORM 

MR.  KING'S  talents  soon  called  him  into  the 
lecture  field.  It  was  the  era  of  the  Lyceum 
system,  that  great  lecture  campaign  which 
preceded  the  Civil  War,  and  afforded  the  best  writ- 
ers and  speakers  an  opportunity  to  discuss  before  au- 
diences of  the  most  thoughtful  and  earnest  people  the 
great  moral  and  social  topics  of  the  day.  It  was 
natural  that  Starr  King  should  be  attracted  to  this 
enlargement  of  his  sphere  of  influence.  As  he  told 
his  Boston  congregation:  "The  lecture  offers  a 
noble  medium  of  influence.  Many  of  the  gifted  men 
who  pour  their  power  through  that  channel  speak 
from  a  consecration  as  manifest  as  the  best  preach- 
ing betrays.  I  cannot  regret  that  I  have  been  drawn 
so  widely  into  that  field,  for  it  has  been  simply  a 
necessity."  The  inadequacy  of  the  salary  which  the 
church  was  able  to  pay  Mr.  King  compelled  him  to 
add  to  his  resources  by  lecture  engagements.  One 
third  of  his  income  from  the  Hollis  Street  Society 
he  devoted  to  his  mother  and  a  brother  incurably 
ill.  He  speedily  became  very  popular  on  the  lecture 
platform  and  extended  his  real  parish  from  Boston 
all  the  way  north  to  Bangor,  and  west  to  Chicago 

[49] 


THOMAS  STARR  KING 

and  St.  Louis.  Yet  his  earnings  from  this  source 
were  small,  as  compared  with  the  fees  received  nowa- 
days by  lecturers  of  equal  rank.  From  ten  to  twenty- 
five  dollars  was  considered  a  sufficient  remuneration 
for  a  lecture  in  New  England,  and  fifty  dollars  if 
delivered  at  the  West.  It  is  probable,  Mr.  Whipple 
tells  us,  that  Mr.  King's  income  was  not  increased 
over  fifteen  hundred  dollars  a  year  by  his  lecture 
engagements;  while  their  drain  on  his  physical  and 
nervous  vitality  was  tremendous,  Mr.  King's  lec- 
tures, like  those  of  many  of  his  contemporaries,  were 
largely  sermons  extended  and  popularized  for  Ly- 
ceum use.  They  dealt  with  the  ethical  and  social 
life,  and  were  designed  to  upbuild  the  spiritual  side 
of  man's  nature,  to  strengthen  faith  in  the  true,  the 
beautiful  and  the  good  as  the  chief  and  permanent 
interests  of  the  human  soul. 

It  is  noteworthy  that  Starr  King  selected  as  the 
topic  of  his  first  lecture  the  great  and  many-sided 
German  writer  Goethe,  of  whose  life  and  works  he 
had  made  a  close  study.  It  was  much  admired.  Dr. 
James  Walker,  the  scholarly  president  of  Harvard 
College,  said  that  it  was  not  merely  remarkable  that 
so  young  a  man  should  have  delivered  such  a  lecture, 
but  that  any  man  could  have  given  it.  It  was  but 
thq  prelude  to  an  output  of  brilliant  and  popular 
utterances  on  the  lecture  platform  which  soon  placed 
Thomas  Starr  King  in  the  very  front  rank  of  lyceum 
orators,  and  made  him  widely  known  and  admired 
throughout  the  United  States  as  a  clear  and  forcible 

[50] 


ON  THE  LECTURE  PLATFORM 

thinker,  a  gifted  rhetorician,  and  a  persuasive  advo- 
cate of  the  higher  interests  of  American  life  and 
letters.  He  w^as  ranked  as  one  of  the  four  great 
luminaries  of  the  lecture  platform,  the  others  by  gen- 
eral consent  being  Wendell  Phillips,  Dr.  E.  H. 
Chapin  and  Henry  Ward  Beecher.  Starr  King  was 
the  youngest  of  this  quartette  of  orators,  and  held 
his  own  by  gifts  different  from  the  others  yet  none 
the  less  fascinating  and  meritorious.  As  Dr.  Henry 
W.  Bellows  tells  us:  ''Starr  King  was  more  versa- 
tile, more  scholarly,  more  artistic  than  they.  His 
lectures  were  more  balanced,  finished  and  ornate. 
His  keen  analytic  sense  and  philosophic  acumen  gave 
to  his  addresses  an  intellectual  basis  and  breadth  often 
wanting  in  those  of  his  great  rivals,"  who,  be  it  said 
in  passing,  were  also  amongst  his  warmest  friends 
and  dearest  companions.  "His  keen  intellect  caught 
at  the  laws  immersed  in  bewildering  details.  He  de- 
lighted to  link  together  the  most  opposite  and  incon- 
gruous things;  by  some  subtle  association  of  thought 
to  give  a  local  habitation  and  a  name,  a  costume  and 
a  character  to  the  vague  notions,  ideas,  fancies  and 
impressions  floating  in  men's  brains."  Of  such  a 
nature,  as  their  very  title  indicates,  were  his  famous 
lectures:  ''Substance  and  Show;"  "Sights  and  In- 
sights;" "The  Ideal  and  the  Real;"  "Existence  and 
Life."  To  this  subtlety  and  analytic  power  was 
added  an  acquaintance  with  the  latest  developments 
of  scientific  thought,  making  his  lectures  brilliant 
summaries  of  the  latest  philosophy  illustrated  by  the 

[SI] 


THOMAS  STARR  KING 

newest  scientific  disclosures.  The  gorgeousness  of 
his  rhetorical  imagination,  the  incessant  play  of  his 
humor  and  the  electric  character  of  his  delivery,  all 
contributed  to  make  him  the  idol  of  the  lecture  plat- 
form. 

On  January  29th,  1849,  Starr  King  writes  his 
friend  Randolph  Ryer: 

"January  29th,  1849. 

".  .  .  The  first  of  the  week  I  was  engaged  in  re- 
touching my  lecture  (before  the  Mercantile  Library 
Association)  on  History.  I  improved  it,  in  my 
judgment,  considerably.  Such  a  house  you  never 
saw.  It  was  jammed  and  crammed,  the  largest  of 
the  season,  except  when  Webster  spoke.  Every  seat 
was  filled,  two  hundred  extra  ones  were  provided, 
and  then  at  least  a  hundred  people  stood  around  the 
doors.  It  took  with  critics  and  people,  the  audience 
were  amazingly  still,  except  when  they  applauded, 
which  was  not  seldom. 

"Emerson  gave  us  last  Monday  evening  the  most 
brilliant  lecture  I  ever  listened  to  from  any  mortal. 
It  was  on  the  identity  of  the  laws  of  the  mind  with  the 
laws  of  nature.  .  .  .  To-night  he  lectures  again.  I 
fear  I  may  lose  it." 

A  lecture  on  Socrates  was  especially  dear  to  Mr. 
King,  and  did  much  to  introduce  the  ancient  Greek 
philosopher  and  his  era  to  the  plain  men  and  women 
who  made  up  the  bulk  of  the  Lyceum  audiences.  It 
is  even  now  a  readable  and  delightful  paper,  and 
should  lead  to  the  study  of  the  great  thinker  and 
moralist  of  classic  antiquity.     Mr.  Whittier  related 

[52] 


ON  THE  LECTURE  PLATFORM 

that  he  once  loaned  a  volume  of  Socrates'  great  dis- 
ciple Plato  to  a  Yankee  farmer  of  his  acquaintance. 
He  returned  the  book  after  an  interval.  "How  did 
you  enjoy  my  friend  Plato?"  asked  the  poet.  "I 
liked  him  fust-rate,"  was  the  answer.  "I  see  he's 
got  hold  of  some  of  my  idees."  So  Mr.  King's  lec- 
tures "domesticated"  Socrates  in  the  towns  and  cities 
of  the  East  and  West,  making  his  audiences  feel  that 
they  had  a  natural  affinity  with  what  was  best  and 
most  inspiring  in  the  thinking  and  life  of  classic  an- 
tiquity. 

For  Daniel  Webster's  intellectual  and  rhetorical 
powers  Mr.  King  had  an  unbounded  admiration. 
He  was  among  the  first  to  appreciate  the  contribu- 
tion which  that  great  orator  and  writer  had  made  to 
American  literature  as  well  as  politics.  He  paid 
eloquent  tribute  to  the  eminent  public  service  which 
Mr.  Webster  had  rendered  as  an  expounder  of  the 
American  Constitution,  and  defender  of  the  National 
idea  against  sectional  aggression  and  party  rancor. 
Mr.  King's  lecture  on  "Webster  and  the  Constitu- 
tion," delivered  with  especial  frequency  and  fervor 
during  the  era  of  the  Civil  War,  reveals  one  of  the 
chief  sources  of  his  own  patriotic  inspiration  and 
political  sagacity. 

August,  1852,  finds  him  at  work  on  an  oration 
for  Waterville  College,  Maine.  Its  topic  was  "Prop- 
erty." It  was  in  reality  a  sermon  expanded  for  the 
present  purpose — more  than  half  being  entirely 
new. 

[53] 


THOMAS  STARR  KING 

"  I  didn't  pay  much  respect  to  the  sensual  and 
hard-fisted  estimates  of  goods  and  possessions,  and  I 
closed  with  an  appeal  to  the  young  men  to  be 
prophets  of  the  intellect  and  do  something  to  reduce 
the  American  scepticism  in  the  reality  of  all  things 
which  their  hands  could  not  grasp,  and  the  Yankee 
limitation  of  beauty  to  the  yellow  hue  of  gold. 

"It  was  delivered  to  an  audience  more  densely 
packed  than  I  ever  saw  before,  and  was  well  received. 
The  society  professed  themselves  satisfied.  The 
Baptists  were  quite  liberal,  and  I  came  home  en- 
couraged for  the  prospects  of  liberal  Christianity 
among  the  rising  generation  of  Evangelicals. 
Beecher  has  many  young  sympathizers  that  back  him 
up.  My  production  will  not  be  printed,  nor  will 
my  recent  4th  of  July  oration  before  the  Boston 
City  authorities.     I  have  declined  the  honor."  ^ 

To  Randolph  Ryer: 

"November  8,  1850. 
"Socrates  is  finished  in  the  first  draft.  I  have  yet 
to  copy  it,  and  recast  it,  in  a  measure,  for  delivery 
in  Lyceum  courses.  At  present  all  the  materials  I 
have  collected  would  consume  two  hours  in  the  read- 
ing. Last  Thursday  night  I  delivered  it  at  Quincy. 
It  was  liked,  I  am  told,  but  I  was  satisfied  that 
it  needs  a  great  deal  of  pruning  to  fit  it  for  public 
success." 

"November  24,  i8i;o. 
"On  Sunday  afternoon  I  lectured  on  the  religious 
views  of  Socrates.     We  had  a  splendid  congregation 
to  hear  it.     I  believe  people  generally  were  aston- 

1  It  was  put  into  print  thirty-two  years  later,  in  1884,  by  the  authorities 
of  the  City  of  Boston. 

[54] 


ON  THE  LECTURE  PLATFORM 

ished  to  find  what  noble  and  spiritual  views  of  God, 
duty,  the  soul,  providence  and  prayer  Socrates  enter- 
tained. On  Thanksgiving  day  I  shall  preach  on  the 
Nineteenth  Century  and  the  Progress  and  Prospects 
of  Humanity." 

''October  ii,  1852. 

"My  amanuensis  was  laid  up  with  weak  eyes  last 
week  and  I  was  compelled  to  write  a  sermon  myself. 
It  was  hard  work  for  me.  I  am  going  into  New 
York  State  in  January  to  six  or  seven  principal  places. 
Shall  stop  a  Sunday  at  Niagara  Falls." 

A  month  later  he  preaches  a  sermon  on  the  death 
of  Daniel  Webster,  and  writes: 

"I  am  driven  with  rewriting  Lyceum  lectures,  writ- 
ing sermons  and  preparing  the  discourse  on  Webster 
for  the  printing.  The  church  was  full  to  hear  it, 
though  the  Sunday  was  stormy.  Thanks  for  Bellows' 
sermon.  It  was  very  characteristic,  rich,  poetic,  bold 
and  noble.  I  enjoyed  reading  it  more  than  any  other. 
With  regard  to  Webster's  7th  of  March  speech,  I 
simply  put  two  hypotheses  as  to  Webster's  motives. 
If  he  acted  from  political  expediency  and  ambition 
he  fell;  if  from  broad  views  of  permanent  compre- 
hensive benefit  to  all  races,  in  the  long  run,  by  pre- 
serving the  Constitution  and  the  Union  (which  I  pre- 
fer to  believe)  his  action  was,  to  himself,  conscien- 
tious and  heroic.  I  can't  read  his  heart  and  there- 
fore couldn't  take  the  responsibility  of  deciding 
further." 

Concerning  his  lecture,  "The  Laws  of  Disorder," 
Wendell  Phillips  told  me  a  story  which  illustrates 
Mr.  King's  resourcefulness  and  tact.     Mr.  Phillips 

[S5] 


THOMAS  STARR  KING 

had  been  invited  to  lecture  in  a  New  Hampshire  town 
— I  think  it  was  Manchester — and  asked  to  name 
his  fee.  As  was  his  habit  he  replied,  "If  my  topic 
may  be  Anti-Slavery  I  will  come  for  nothing  and  pay 
my  own  expenses.  If  "The  Lost  Arts"  or  any  other 
of  my  literary  addresses  is  demanded  I  shall  have  to 
lecture  for  F.  A.  M.  E.;  as  Dr.  Chapin  has  put  it; 
that  is  'Fifty- And-My-ExpensesM"  It  was  finally 
arranged  that  Mr.  Phillips  should  speak  in  their  Ly- 
ceum Course  on  "The  Lost  Arts,"  and  later  in  the 
evening,  as  was  his  frequent  custom,  address  those 
who  might  desire  to  remain  and  hear  him  on  Anti- 
Slavery.  This  program  was  carried  out,  but  gave 
great  offense  to  the  pro-slavery  element  among  the 
subscribers.  The  succeeding  lecturer  in  the  course 
was  Thomas  Starr  King.  Before  introducing  him 
to  the  audience  the  chairman  sought  to  allay  the  feel- 
ing which  had  been  created  the  week  previous.  "I 
regret,"  he  began,  "to  learn  that  the  permission  our 
committee  gave  Mr.  Phillips  to  speak  on  Anti-Slav- 
ery last  week  has  called  out  much  unfavorable  com- 
ment"— A  storm  of  hisses  and  outcries  from  the  abo- 
litionists present  interrupted  and  abashed  the  speaker. 
"Do  not  misunderstand  me,"  he  cried,  "it  is  not  that 
I  personally  objected  to  Mr.  Phillips'  remarks. 
Quite  the  contrary,  I  assure  you,  quite  the  contrary!" 
Hereupon  the  pro-slavery  element  began  an  uproar. 
The  poor  man,  unable  to  make  himself  heard,  and 
quite  overcome  by  the  demonstration,  sat  down  help- 
lessly and  entirely  forgot  to  introduce  the  speaker  of 

[56] 


ON  THE  LECTURE  PLATFORM 

the  evening.  Mr.  King,  who  had  been  an  amused 
spectator  of  the  scene,  rose  to  his  feet  and  advanced 
to  the  front  of  the  stage.  In  stentorian  tones  that 
commanded  attention  he  cried :  ''Ladies  and  gentle- 
men! My  name  is  Thomas  Starr  King.  I  have 
come  from  Boston  to  read  you  a  lecture  to-night  on 
^The  Laws  of  Disorder.'  I  am  sure  you  will  agree 
that  this  is  a  very  opportune  time  for  me  to  begin." 
The  audience,  captivated  by  the  wit  and  tact  of  the 
speaker,  laughed  and  applauded  and  settled  down 
to  listen.^ 

This  incident  brings  to  mind  a  characteristic  trait 
of  Mr.  King,  already  referred  to,  his  irrepressible 
humor  and  flow  of  spirits.  He  was  "constitutionally 
hilarious,"  as  some  one  has  expressed  it.  He  had 
the  keenest  eye  for  the  odd,  eccentric  and  ludicrous 
in  the  speech  and  conduct  of  his  fellow-creatures. 
No  one  had  such  a  fund  of  anecdotes  and  comical 
experiences,  and  no  one  could  tell  a  story  so  inimi- 
tably. Once,  when  a  matter-of-fact  individual  ex- 
postulated: "But,  Mr.  King,  I  was  present  on  the 
occasion  referred  to,  and  saw  no  such  happenings," 
the  mirthful  story-teller  replied  "Ah,  but  don't  you 

1 A  number  of  the  most  able  and  popular  of  Mr.  King's  lectures  and 
pulpit  discourses,  after  his  death,  by  the  advice  of  Frank  Bret  Harte, 
who  had  been  charged  with  their  examination,  and  in  response  to  a  gen- 
eral demand,  were  published  in  two  volumes,  entitled  respectively  "Sub- 
stance and  Show,"  and  "Christianity  and  Humanity."  They  were  edited, 
and  prefaced  by  a  felicitous,  but  all  too  brief  memoir  by  his  intimate 
friend  Edwin  P.  Whipple.  As  Dr.  Charles  W.  Eliot  has  said,  they  should 
be  perused  by  every  young  American  student  of  oratory,  not  only  for 
their  intellectual  and  moral  values,  but  for  their  rhetorical  quality,  and 
the  virility  and  beauty  of  their  English  style. 

[57] 


THOMAS  STARR  KING 

wish  you  could  have?"  Whenever  anv  of  this  bril- 
liant company  of  authors,  lecturers  and  divines  met 
each  other,  on  the  train  speeding  away  to  their  re- 
spective appointments,  or  at  the  Old  Corner  Book- 
store, or  the  dinners  of  the  Examiner  Club,  there  was 
a  display  of  wit  and  wisdom  that  was  worth  listen- 
ing to.  In  this  blending  of  sense  and  nonsense,  earn- 
est and  fun,  Starr  King  was  unequaled  for  spontane- 
ity and  brilliancy.  This  native  mirthfulness  appears 
especially  in  his  voluminous  correspondence,  which 
overflows  with  quips,  puns,  good-natured  banter, 
humorous  sallies, — a  well-spring  of  joy  and  cheer. 
Moreover,  his  wit,  however  telling,  was  so  genial  that 
it  never  wounded  a  heart  or  lost  him  a  friend.  I  re- 
call that  at  one  of  his  Friday  evening  receptions  in 
San  Francisco  the  conversation  turning  to  imperfec- 
tions in  speech,  I  shyly  ventured  to  remark  that  I 
also  had  much  difficulty  with  certain  words — 
''There's  'Re-Religion.'  Somehow,  I  stumble  over 
it,  I  can't  get  it  out!"  With  a  look  of  pretended  so- 
licitude Mr.  King  rejoined,  "How  sad!  Perhaps  it's 
because  you  haven't  it  in  you." 

This  keen  sense  of  humor  did  a  great  deal  to  ease 
the  friction  and  strain  of  life  for  Starr  King,  on  whom 
this  incessant  round  of  clerical  and  literary  engage- 
ments was  beginning  to  tell  most  seriously.  The  pro- 
fession of  a  lecturer,  it  has  been  truly  said,  is  a  most 
exhausting  one.  For  five  months  in  the  year  travel- 
ling over  the  country,  enduring  innumerable  discom- 
forts and  exposures,  sleeping  in  strange  beds,  eating 

[58] 


ON  THE  LECTURE  PLATFORM 

unwonted  fare,  speaking  under  greater  or  less  mental 
excitement  in  ill-ventilated  or  acoustically  impossible 
halls;  after  the  lecture  meeting  crowds  of  people,  en- 
tertaining until  late  at  night  a  company  specially  in- 
vited by  his  host,  and  returning  home  in  haste  to  make 
his  usual  careful  preparation  for  the  Sunday — it  is 
no  wonder  Mr.  King's  slight  physique,  after  eleven 
years  of  this  hard  service,  should  have  threatened  to 
give  way. 

We  find  frequent  references  in  Mr.  King's  letters 
of  this  period  to  the  irksomeness  and  exhaustion  of 
physical  and  nervous  energies  attending  this  annual 
lecture  campaign. 

Thus  in  Sept.  1852,  he  writes: 

"We  returned  last  Friday  to  our  home  at  12  Bur- 
roughs Place  (a  quiet  court  leading  from  Hollis 
Street) .  If  I  could  look  forward  to  a  quiet  winter 
^  should  deeply  rejoice.  But  alas!  I  must  carry 
the  gates  of  Gaza  again,  lecturing,  lecturing  for 
money,  money, — that  is  the  song  that  buzzes  in  my 
ears.  When  shall  I  have  rest?  I  begin  my  yearly 
campaign  this  very  night  at  South  Maiden,  where  I 
shall  deliver  'Property'  for  $10." 

"January  ist,  1854. 
"Last  week  I  was  in  Western  New  York.  Left 
home  Monday  noon,  reached  Niagara  Tuesday  fore- 
noon, lectured  in  Buffalo  Tuesday  night.  Auburn 
Wednesday,  Rochester  Thursday,  Syracuse  Friday, 
left  after  the  lecture  in  the  night  train  for  Albany 
and  reached  home  Saturday  at  8  P.  M.  Niagara 
looked  gloriously  in  the  white  frame  of  winter.     The 

[59] 


THOMAS  STARR  KING 

lecture,    'Socrates'    went    swimmingly    to    crowded 
houses." 

"February  13,  1854. 

"Last  Monday  night  I  lectured  in  Springfield,  and 
returned  in  the  night  train  on  the  same  seat  with 
Henry  Ward  Beecher.  He  was  sleepy  and  rich;  I 
was  wide-awake  and  rich.  We  had  a  glorious  talk 
about  orthodoxy,  Nebraska,  John  Mitchell,  Conflict 
of  Ages  (have  you  read  my  review?),  Chapin,  Fur- 
ness.  Temperance,  Revivals,  etc.,  etc.  I  made  him 
roar  with  some  stories." 

The  lights  and  shadows  of  a  lecturer's  life  are 
shown  in  two  letters  from  subsequent  years. 

"March  2,  i8i;4. 
"I  was  an  hour  late  for  the  lecture  in  Utica  last 
Thursday,  missing  one  train  and  being  detained  on 
another.  The  audience  waited,  however,  and  a  glori- 
ous one  it  was.  They  doubled  the  price  of  admission 
for  that  night,  but  the  hall  was  crowded.  Socrates 
was  a  very  acceptable  guest.  Rome  (N.  Y.)  was 
wide  awake  the  second  time.  They  had  a  large 
church  for  my  lecture.  Money  was  made  out  of  me, 
although  they  paid  me  $40  at  Rome,  and  $150  at 
Utica.  The  audience  at  Rome  was  so  still  that  you 
could  hear  the  clock  tick  through  the  whole  address. 
Friday  night  I  started  for  Albany  at  12  to  be  in  Al- 
bany for  the  7  A.  M.  train.  About  half  way  the 
engine  gave  out,  and  we  reached  that  city  at  8  A.  M. 
Very  pleasant!  I  telegraphed  ahead  to  Julia,  and 
then  took  a  room  in  the  hotel  and  went  to  writing  a 
sermon.  Started  at  4  P.  M.  for  Boston,  due  at  12:30. 
Between  Springfield  and  Bos-ton  our  engine  gave  out. 
I  reached  home  about  4  A.  M.  Sunday,  finding  my 

[60] 


ON  THE  LECTURE  PLATFORM 

wife  half  frightened  to  pieces.     She  didn't  get  the 
despatch  for  which  I  paid  a  dollar. 

"Last  night  I  lectured  in  Concord.  Emerson  was 
there  and  heard  'Substance  and  Show.'  I  was  terri- 
fied with  his  presence  and  didn't  deliver  it  so  well  as 
usual.  But  he  was  stirred  up,  was  quite  eloquent  in 
compliment  and  joy.  He  told  the  people  my  preach- 
ing wasn't  so  good  as  that.  'That  is  preaching,'  he 
said  to  the  Doctor  of  the  village.  I  was  really  lifted 
up  to  find  that  he  was  so  moved  by  the  utterance. 
We  had  a  supper  at  the  Unitarian  minister's  after  it 
was  over.  Emerson  was  there,  and  I  entertained 
them  with  imitations  of  Beecher's  preaching.  I 
think  Beecher's  parish  had  better  hire  me  for  half 
the  time  to  imitate  Henry  Ward's  great  sermons. 
Emerson  was  genial  as  a  child  and  was  in  great  hu- 
mor over  the  imitations.  Bellows  at  our  church  last 
Sunday,  stirred  our  people  up  tremendously.  He 
spoke  without  notes  an  hour  and  twenty  minutes  in 
the  morning  on  Antioch  College.  Every  man, 
woman  and  child  was  carried  away  as  by  a  tempest. 
He  could  have  raised  $i;ooo  if  the  contribution  box 
had  gone  around  after  the  sermon." 

"February  9,  1855. 
"I  am  home.  Thank  Heaven!  I  have  escaped 
from  the  jaws  of  the  West.  I  am  not  buried  in  snow- 
drifts, I  am  not  frozen.  I  am  not  in  my  grave  from 
dyspepsia.  I  am  not  starving  on  the  train  between 
Chicago  and  the  Mississippi.  I  am  not  smashed  up 
on  the  Ohio  Central  when  two  trains  came  nose  to 
nose — but  finding  that  I  was  on  board  concluded  not 
to  pitch  into  each  other.  I  am  not  crazy  from  riding 
some  ten  nights  without  sleep.  I  am  not  quite  des- 
perate, although  I  lost  $300  from  my  programme  by 

[6.] 


THOMAS  STARR  KING 

storms  and  failures  of  engagements,  and  cleared  only 
about  $300.  In  a  word  I  am  not  dead.  Though 
why  I  am  not,  it  would  puzzle  a  metaphysician  to 
determine.  Such  a  journey!  Catch  me  in  the  West 
again! 

"To  be  sure  I  got  glory,  glory  at  Chicago,  at  Cin- 
cinnati, at  Rockford;  but  I  desire  less  glory  and 
more  comfort.  I  am  home  safe,  after  having  almost 
seen  the  Mississippi,  and  quite  plainly  seen  the  Ele- 
phant. Instead -of  a  trunk,  however,  he  had  a  valise. 
When  can  I  quit  lecturing?" 

One  source  of  recuperation  which  delayed  the  im- 
pending break  of  his  health  was  his  summer  vacation 
among  the  hills  of  New  Hampshire  and  on  the  sea 
coasts  of  New  England.  He  had  an  exquisite  appre- 
ciation of  natural  scenery  and  an  extraordinary  talent 
for  describing  it.  He  knew  the  White  Hills  of  New 
Hampshire  better  than  their  village  guides  and  had 
explored  the  whole  line  of  Cape  Ann  and  the  Massa- 
chusetts Coast.  The  fruit  of  his  ten  years'  summer- 
ing and  wintering  in  our  New  England  Alps  was 
his  letters  to  the  Boston  Evening  Transcript  on  the 
New  Hampshire  Mountains,  which,  collected  and 
revised,  were  later  issued  with  illustrations  in  a  vol- 
ume, "The  White  Hills,  their  Legends,  Landscape 
and  Poetry," — the  single  book  he  was  spared  to  give 
to  the  public,  a  work  of  imaginative  power  and  liter- 
ary charm,  and  one  which  still  holds  its  use  as  a 
guide-book  and  companion  in  that  delightful  region. 
No  man  was  so  widely  known  as  Mr.  King  in  this 
mountain  district  and  none  more  highly  esteemed. 

[62] 


STAiiU  KING  MUUNTAIX,  WHITE  HILLS.  NEW  HAMrslIlKE 
From  White  field,  N.H. 


PHOTO    BY    E.S.JONES 


PERMISSION    OF    THE    BOSTON    TRANSCRIPT 


ON  THE  LECTURE  PLATFORM 

His  graphic  pen  described  its  scenic  beauty,  his  voice 
led  public  worship  in  its  school  houses  and  churches, 
his  generous  sympathy  had  been  extended  towards 
its  poor.  The  noble  peak,  five  thousand  feet  high, 
which  overlooks  the  pleasant  village  of  Jefferson, 
N.  H.,  was  named  after  him,  Mt.  Starr  King.  The 
precipitous  and  sombre  King's  ravine  on  the  western 
slope  of  Mount  Jefferson,  which,  in  1857,  at  the  head 
of  a  party  of  mountaineers  he  was  the  first  to  explore, 
also  perpetuates  his  memory  to  the  dwellers  and  visit- 
ors in  that  region.  At  Gorham,  where  Mr.  King 
passed  nine  summers,  he  was  a  familiar  and  beloved 
figure  and  remains  an  endeared  tradition. 

Many  are  the  stories  current  in  this  mountain  dis- 
trict of  the  wit  and  joyousness  of  these  brilliant  sum- 
mer visitors.  Once,  when  Dr.  Chapin  was  engaged 
in  playing  a  game  of  ten-pins,  a  bystander  humor- 
ously remarked:  "Why,  D'octor  Chapin,  what 
would  happen  if  your  church  people  learned  of  your 
participation  in  this  worldly  amusement?"  "Noth- 
ing whatever!"  was  the  quick  retort.  "I  should  sim- 
ply prove  an  alley-by." 

Starr  King,  coming  into  the  house  one  morning, 
reported:  "It  is  raining  like  Caesar!"  "An  absurd 
comparison,"  said  Chapin.  "Not  at  all,"  rejoined 
King.  "Have  you  so  soon  forgotten  your  classics — 
'Caesar  reigned  hard.'  " 

When  Henry  Ward  Beecher  made  one  of  the  party, 
as  not  infrequently  happened,  the  fun  waxed  fast  and 
furious.     Starr  King  used  to  tell  of  a  long  tramp  the 

[63] 


THOMAS  STARR  KING 

three  friends  once  made  through  the  mountains. 
Footsore  and  weary,  at  the  close  of  a  long  hike,  the 
daily  stage-coach  overtook  them,  and  they  quickly 
decided  to  avail  themselves  of  it  to  reach  their  desti- 
nation. Climbing  to  its  top  they  distributed  them- 
selves, Starr  King  perching  by  the  side  of  the  driver 
and  soon  engaging  him  in  a  lively  conversation. 
'Were  you  ever  in  New  York?"  he  finally  asked  the 
unsuspecting  Jehu.  "Waal,  I  was  onc't,"  the  latter 
replied.  "Some  of  my  wife's  folks  invited  us  to  visit 
'em  there  two  winters  ago."  "And  did  you  enjoy 
it?"  "I  should  say!  Ain't  it  a  big  place?  Nothin' 
to  beat  it  this  side  o'  kingdom  come."  "I  suppose 
you  were  there  over  Sunday?"  remarked  Beecher. 
Yes,  he  had  spent  three  Sundays  in  the  great  metropo- 
lis. "Where  did  you  go  to  church  on  Sunday?" 
asked  King.  The  stage  driver  lifted  his  eyebrows 
with  surprise,  and  took  another  look  at  the  dust-cov- 
ered and  slouchy  trio  ere  he  answered,  "My  wife's 
folks  are  Universalists,  and  the  fust  Sunday  they  took 
us  to  hear  their  crack  preacher,  Chapin."  "And  did 
you  like  him?"  King  asked  mischievously.  "Say 
now — he's  a  wonder.  No  use  talking — he's  a  big 
man!"  "Yes,"  retorted  King,  his  eyes  dancing  with 
mirth,  "you're  right  there.  He's  big  enough.  Al- 
most as  big  as  that  man  on  the  seat  behind  you.'^ 
The  driver  craned  his  neck  around  for  a  fresh  obser- 
vation. "Bigger  round  the  head;  not  so  big  in  the 
stummic."  There  was  a  general  explosion  at  this 
comment.     Starr  King  persisted:     "Didn't  you  go 

[64] 


ON  THE  LECTURE  PLATFORM 

to  hear  that  other  great  preacher  over  in  Brooklyn, 
Henry  Ward  Beecher?"  "I  did.  Went  to  hear  him 
to  please  my  wife.  She's  a  Congregational."  "And 
did  you  like  him?"  ''Sure!  He's  a  stunner. 
Nothin'  like  him."  "Well,  now,"  asked  King,  "of 
those  two  men,  Chapin  and  Beecher,  which  did  you 
think  was  the  greatest  preacher?"  "Sho,"  said  the 
stage-driver,  with  an  air  of  finality,  "Beecher's  a 
mighty  smart  man,  but  when  it  comes  to  preaching, 
Chapin  can  preach  him  right  out  of  his  boots!" 

We  permit  ourselves  to  quote  only  two  of  the  letters 
to  personal  friends  in  which  Mr.  King  uttered  the 
praises  and  sought  to  impart  the  charm  of  this  lovely 
mountain  region,  to  which  he  later  did  full  justice  in 
a  widely  read  book. 

To  Randolph  Ryer: 

"May  30,  1853. 

"I  intimated  to  you  last  Monday  morning  that  I 
might  jump  Anniversary  Week  by  leaping  over 
Boston  into  the  district  of  the  White  Hills.  Tues- 
day morning  I  made  the  attempt,  arrived  on  Lake 
Winnipiseogee  at  noon,  and  after  a  most  delicious 
sail  dined  at  Centre  Harbor.  Started  at  i  130  for 
Conway — roads  good,  no  dust,  mountains  sharp  in 
the  sky  as  an  axe,  and  air  balmy  and  soft  as  the 
breezes  of  Paradise.  Last  fall  I  saw  the  hills  in  their 
October  pomp;  now  the  blossoms  weighed  the  trees 
like  vegetable  snow,  and  the  orchards  seemed  robed 
in  bridal  joy.  After  a  most  glorious  and  memorable 
ride  we  arrived  in  North  Conway  at  evening,  and 
slept  at  Thompson's  under  the  protection  of  Mt. 
Kearsage.     You  remember  our  walk  three  years  ago 

[6s] 


THOMAS  STARR  KING 

in  that  village  when  the  half-moon  softened  the  land- 
scape with  its  ethereal  silver. 

"Wednesday  it  stormed,  but  lifted  at  evening,  giv- 
ing us  (I  mean  Rev.  Chas.  H.  Leonard  of  Chelsea 
and  myself)  the  privilege  of  a  two  hours'  walk  along 
the  rich  meadows  that  border  the  Saco.  Thursday 
it  stormed  furiously  and  we  were  housed  all  day, 
with  nothing  to  relieve  the  tedium.  Friday  morn- 
ing was  beautiful,  inspiring,  divine.  We  spent  sev- 
eral hours  exploring  the  beauties  of  North  Conway, 
which  is  pronounced  by  artistic  eyes,  the  loveliest 
village  of  New  England.  At  12  we  started  in  an 
open  wagon  to  go  through  the  Pinkham  road  around 
the  base  of  the  Mt.  Washington  range  to  Gorham, 
N.  H.  The  air  was  evidently  the  last  remnant  of 
the  breeze  that  fanned  Eden  the  morning  after  Eve 
was  created;  there  never  will  be  another  like  it  till 
the  new  heavens  and  earth  appear.  O  what  a  ride! 
Going  through  the  village  of  Jackson,  we  saw  the 
whole  monarch  range  from  base  to  summit  at  an 
angle  that  made  us  realize  its  height.  Without 
going  around  the  Eastern  and  Northern  sides  of  the 
mountains  it  is  impossible  to  know  the  majesty  and 
magnificence  of  these  hills.  After  riding  some  fif- 
teen miles  thus,  we  let  the  wagon  return,  and  we 
walked  seven  miles  carrying  our  overcoats  and  valises 
up  hill  much  of  the  way.  Pretty  tough!  Then  we 
took  a  wagon  and  went  to  Gorham  eight  miles.  The 
storm  had  torn  the  road  very  badly.  It  took  us  three 
hours  to  go  the  eight  miles  and  we  arrived  at  Gorham 
at  10:30  pretty  well  tired.  Next  morning  we  took 
a  few  hours  to  see  the  glorious  aspects  of  the  moun- 
tains from  that  side — very  superior  to  anything  on 
Gibbs'  district,  and  at  11  started  for  home,  which  we 
reached     at    8     P.  M.     Yesterday    I     preached    on 

[66] 


ON  THE  LECTURE  PLATFORM 

'Blossoms,'  suggested  by  the  beauty  of  the  trees 
amongst  the  mountains.  Grand  congregation.  We 
think  of  boarding  a  few  weeks  at  North  Conway  in 
a  large  farm  house." 

To  the  same: 

''September  i,  1858. 

"The  summer  is  over.  I  send  you  an  autumn 
greeting.  This  morning  I  arrived  in  Boston  from 
Portland  by  boat.  Yesterday  forenoon  I  was  driving 
in  a  wagon  far  up  on  the  banks  of  the  Androscoggin 
within  twenty  miles  of  Umbagog  lake,  and  feasting 
my  eyes  on  the  noble  view  of  the  three  greatest 
mountains  of  the  White  Mountain  range — Washing- 
ton, Jefferson,  and  Madison.  It  is  a  view  which  I 
discovered  this  year,  and  it  beats  all  other  landscape 
views  of  the  hills  out  and  out.  No  visitors  of  the 
region  have  ever  seen  it  except  such  as  I  have  taken 
there.  Up  to  this  year  the  Creator  of  all  Mountains 
has  enjoyed  it  almost  exclusively. 

"I  have  been  at  the  mountains  nearly  eight  weeks. 
Was  worn  out  when  I  came.  Am  now  hearty,  and 
shouldn't  know  that  I  had  written  or  spoken  for  a 
year. 

"I  have  been  to  Franconia  twice,  to  the  Notch 
district  twice,  to  Dixville  Notch  once,  to  North  Con- 
way once,  to  Lancaster  and  the  Connecticut  river 
once,  and  to  Berlin  Falls  twenty  times.  Also  once 
to  the  Snow  Arch  in  Tuckerman's  ravine,  twice  to 
the  summit  of  Mt.  Washington  (staying  all  night 
once),  and  twice  to  the  top  of  Mt.  Hayes — also  to 
the  top  of  Mt.  Lafayette  in  Franconia.  So  I  have 
had  a  somewhat  ample  feast  of  mountain  splendor." 

Aside  from  this  communion  with  nature  his  chief 

[67] 


THOMAS  STARR  KING 

diversion  was  the  love  of  the  arts;  especially  of  music, 
of  which  he  had  the  most  exquisite  appreciation,  as 
his  letters  and  his  noble  lecture  on  Music  bear  wit- 
ness/ An  even  more  striking  testimony  to  his  artistic 
sensibility  is  afforded  by  the  action  of  a  group  of  some 
forty  leading  artists  of  Boston — many  distinguished 
painters  and  sculptors  among  them — who  on  receiv- 
ing the  sad  intelligence  of  Starr  King's  death,  printed 
in  the  Boston  Evening  Transcript  an  appreciative 
tribute  to  him  as  one  who  by  his  eloquent  word-pic- 
tures of  Nature's  beauty  and  sublimity,  and  his  en- 
lightened understanding  of  Art  as  its  interpreter  to 
the  human  soul,  had  placed  them  under  great  and 
unforgettable  obligations. 

^  In  "Substance  and  Show,"  p.  231. 


[68] 


CHAPTER  IV 

CALL  AND  TRANSFER  TO  CALIFORNIA 

IT  became  apparent  that  after  eleven  years  of  this 
exhaustive  service  Starr  King  needed  a  change 
of  environment,  a  new  field  of  labor  where  he 
would  be  able  to  make  larger  use  of  his  literary  cap- 
ital, and  gain  the  income  needed  to  support  his  family 
and  meet  his  naturally  expensive  tastes  and  large 
charities.  Various  cities  sought  him  as  pastor, 
Brooklyn,  Cincinnati  and  Chicago  among  them. 
He  felt  himself  most  attracted  by  a  call  from  the 
young  and  struggling  Unitarian  Church  in  San  Fran- 
cisco. The  romantic  history  and  imposing  scenery 
of  California,  the  pledge  of  an  adequate  salary  which 
would  preclude  the  necessity  of  a  recourse  to  the 
"detestable  vagrancy  of  lecturing,"  as  he  called  it; 
above  all,  the  challenge  to  his  missionary  zeal  and 
consecration  powerfully  appealed  to  him.  This 
deeper  ethical  and  religious  motive  prevailed.  ''I 
do  think,"  he  wrote  his  friend  Dr.  Henry  W.  Bellows 
of  New  York,  "we  are  unfaithful  in  huddling  so 
closely  around  the  cosy  stove  of  civilization  in  this 
blessed  Boston,  and  I,  for  one,  am  ready  to  go  out 
into  the  cold  and  see  if  I  am  good  for  anything." 
The  first  intimation  of  this  decision  given  to  his 

[69] 


THOMAS  STARR  KING 

friends  we  find  in  a  letter  written  to  Randolph  Ryer 
under  date  of  September,  1859. 

'T  have  lots  of  things  to  tell  you,  among  others 
that  I  shall  probably  move  to  San  Francisco.  The 
White  Mountain  book  will  be  out  for  the  holidays. 
It  will  be  a  beauty.  As  to  California,  read  the  en- 
closed letter.  I  have  thought  best  to  let  you  see  just 
what  I  wrote  the  committee. 

"  T  shall  go  to  you  in  the  hope  of  using  all  the 
powers  that  may  be  continued  to  me  for  your  per- 
manent strength  as  a  Liberal  Christian  parish.  My 
great  ambition  in  life  is  to  serve  the  cause  of  Chris- 
tianity as  represented  by  the  noblest  souls  of  all  the 
Liberal  Christian  parties.  I  am  not  conscious  of 
any  gifts,  either  of  thought  or  speech,  that  can  make 
my  presence  with  you  so  desirable  as  you  seem  to 
think;  but  if  I  can  be  of  service  by  cooperating  with 
you  in  laying  deeper  the  foundations  and  lifting 
higher  the  walls  of  our  faith  in  your  city,  whose  civ- 
ilization is  weaving  out  of  the  most  various  and  in 
many  respects  the  best  threads  of  the  American  char- 
acter, I  shall  have  reason  always  to  bless  Providence 
for  a  rich  privilege.'  " 

Mr.  King's  decision  to  remove  to  San  Francisco 
awoke  a  storm  of  regrets  and  remonstrances  from  his 
parishioners  and  friends.  His  Boston  congregation 
could  not  bring  themselves  to  consent  to  a  permanent 
separation,  and  finally  a  vacation  was  extended  to  him 
for  fifteen  months,  during  which  time  the  society 
would  depend  on  pulpit  supplies  from  Sunday  to 
Sunday,  in  the  hope  that  their  beloved  minister  would 

[70] 


CALL  AND  TRANSFER  TO  CALIFORNIA 

return  to  them  at  the  expiration  of  his  leave  of  ab- 
sence. On  Sunday,  the  25th  of  March,  i860,  before 
a  crowded  audience,  Mr.  King  preached  his  fare- 
well sermon,  "Words  at  Parting,"  a  moving  utter- 
ance of  affection  and  gratitude. 

At  a  social  gathering  of  the  parish  he  received  so 
many  manifestations  of  the  love  with  which  they 
cherished  him  that  his  resolution  to  leave  them  al- 
most gave  way.  A  further  trial  of  his  loyalty  awaited 
him  in  New  York,  where,  the  day  before  the  sailing 
of  the  steamer  that  was  to  bear  him  and  his  family 
on  their  journey  to  the  far  Pacific  Coast,  a  public 
dinner  and  reception  was  given  in  his  honor  at  the 
Fifth  Avenue  Hotel  by  the  Unitarian  laity  and  clergy 
of  that  city.  Three  hundred  guests  were  seated  at 
the  tables.  The  venerable  poet  William  CuUen 
Bryant  presided.  Revs.  Bellows,  Osgood,  Farley, 
Samuel  Longfellow,  O.  B.  Frothingham,  and  others, 
made  addresses.  The  report  of  the  speeches  and  pro- 
ceedings, including  Starr  King's  response,  filled  four- 
teen columns  of  the  New  York  Christian  Inquirer. 
As  E.  P.  Whipple  says,  two  short  sentences  in  the 
letter  sent  the  committee  by  Rev.  Dr.  F.  H.  Hedge, 
one  of  the  most  intimate  of  his  friends,  condensed 
the  spirit  which  animated  the  assembly:  "King  is 
with  you  for  a  parting  word,  and  your  fraternal 
benediction  on  his  way.  Happy  soul!  himself  a 
benediction  wherever  he  goes,  benignly  dispensing 
the  graces  of  his  life  wherever  he  carries  the  wisdom 
of  his  word." 

[71] 


THOMAS  STARR  KING 

On  the  fifth  of  April,  i860,  Thomas  Starr  King, 
with  his  wife  and  little  daughter  Edith,  sailed  on  the 
steamship  Northern  Light,  by  way  of  the  Isthmus  of 
Panama,  for  his  new  and  chosen  field  of  labor. 

Mr.  King  kept  a  detailed  journal  of  the  voyage 
for  the  information  of  his  own  and  his  wife's  rela- 
tives, and  Boston  friends.  Sundry  extracts  from  it 
will  be  of  interest.  The  present  writer  made  the 
same  journey  in  the  following  year  under  similar 
conditions,  and  can  vouch  for  the  accuracy  of  Mr. 
King's  descriptions  of  the  scenery  and  other  features 
of  the  transit  across  the  Isthmus,  and  the  discomforts 
and  miseries  to  which  the  traveller  was  subjected  in 
those  early  days  by  the  barriers  created  by  an  unsub- 
dued nature,  and  the  rapacity  of  ship-owners  and 
their  agents. 

''New  York  Harbor,  April  5th,  i860. 
"The  Northern  Light  was  to  sail  at  12  precisely. 
.  .  .  We  did  not  reach  the  ship  as  early  as  we  in- 
tended. Horace  Greeley  came  to  see  me  at  the  Fifth 
Avenue  Hotel  in  the  morning  to  give  me  the  names 
of  the  people  I  must  know  in  California  and  some 
practical  advice.  'You  are  going,'  he  said,  'to  a  di- 
vine country.  There  is  nothing  like  it  on  the  face 
of  the  earth.  You  will  be  fascinated  by  it,  except 
San  Francisco,  which  I  think,'  said  he,  'has  the  worst 
climate,  and  is  the  most  infernal  hole  on  the  face  of 
the  earth.'  A  pretty  attractive  character  to  give  my 
future  home!  There  were  lots  of  little  last  things 
to  be  done.  We  did  not  leave  the  hotel  until  nearly 
ten.     Rev.  E.  H.  Chapin  rode  down  in  the  carriage 

[72] 


CALL  AND  TRANSFER  TO  CALIFORNIA 

with  us,  and  left  us  at  the  pier  in  order  to  attend  a 
funeral.  Several  ministers  were  in  waiting  to  say 
farewell.  Mr.  Samuel  Longfellow  and  Dr.  Farley 
of  Brooklyn,  Mr.  A.  A.  Livermore  of  the  Inquirer, 
Octavius  B.  Frothingham,  and  Mr.  Barrett,  the 
Swedenborgian.  Lots  of  other  friends  were  in  at- 
tendance. My  constant  friend  Randolph  Ryer  was, 
of  course,  on  hand.  What  shall  I  do  without  him 
in  San  Francisco?  Wm.  C.  Martin,  a  large  lump 
of  the  very  finest  salt  on  the  earth,  was  there.  Then 
there  were  the  Boston  brethren.  It  is  a  luxury  to 
write  their  names — Edward  H.  Eldredge,  Warren 
Sawyer,  Joseph  Greeley,  John  Stetson  and  Baker 
Welch.  How  absurd  it  seems  to  leave  such  attach- 
ment as  these  men  have  shown  me!  Friendship 
enough  to  bless  a  dozen  men  better  than  I  am  a 
whole  life-time  has  been  poured  out  from  them  to- 
wards me  the  last  three  months.  I  am  glad  no  more 
of  the  parish  were  present  to  make  the  parting 
sharper.  Our  dear  friend  Thomas  B.  Fox  was  also 
in  the  state-room  when  we  reached  the  steamer,  to 
bid  us  farewell.  To  be  sure,  he  might  have  been 
seen  at  the  same  moment  in  his  little  fountain  office  on 
Washington  Street,  where  the  Christian  Examiner  s 
eloquence  bubbles  up  into  the  literature  of  the  world. 
But  the  real,  genuine,  substantial  Fox  was  with  us  in 
spirit,  and  sent  a  splendid  bouquet  of  flowers  to  keep 
his  memory  fragrant  on  the  first  days  of  the  voyage." 

"At  Sea,  April  7th. 
"We  are  beyond  Hatteras  and  across  the  Gulf 
Stream.  The  passengers,  a  vast  number  of  whom 
were  sick  yesterday,  are  all  out  this  morning.  And 
what  a  crowd!  There  are  a  thousand  persons  on 
this  moderate  sized  steamship.     It  is  almost  impossi- 

[73] 


THOMAS  STARR  KING 

ble  to  walk  the  narrow  passageways  in  front  of  our 
state-room  doors,  the  only  open  air  promenade  the 
ship  affords.  We  are  packed  in  like  cattle  in  a  stock 
train.  Just  twice  as  many  as  the  boat  can  accommo- 
date are  jammed  into  her.  It  is  infamous  and  it  is 
frightful.  There  are  only  four  small  boats  attached 
to  the  ship,  not  enough  to  save  the  children  in  case 
of  accident.  I  do  not  see  any  life  preservers  any- 
where. Old  Vanderbilt  ought  to  be  dragged  after 
the  ship  in  the  sea,  like  a  ship-mop,  from  New  York 
to  Aspinwall.  The  stories  of  wrong,  extortion  and 
outrage  as  to  tickets  told  by  the  persons  on  board 
show  that  he  is  a  shark  packed  into  human  shape  and 
baptized  with  a  Christian  name." 

''At  Sea,  April  8th. 

"A  glorious  Sunday  morning,  the  sky  unclouded, 
the  sea  a  brilliant  azure,  and  flecked  with  white  caps 
which  tell  us  we  have  still  a  pleasant  breeze.  We 
are  ofif  Florida,  yet  the  air  is  not  the  least  oppressive. 
The  passengers  want  me  to  preach.  There  is  no 
other  minister  on  board.  Heaven  knows  there  are 
people  enough  for  three  congregations.  I  preached 
on  Proverbs  iv,  23,  taking  the  capstan  for  a  pulpit. 
It  was  a  severe  strain  upon  the  voice  to  speak  in  the 
open  air  against  the  noise  of  the  steamer.  There  was 
a  large  gathering  and  a  very  attentive  one. 

"The  Southern  Cross  is  certainly  a  poetic  and  in- 
spiring spectacle,  but  by  association  rather  than  in 
reality.  It  needs  one  more  star  in  it  on  the  long  beam 
of  the  cross.  If  I  could  improve  the  firmament,  I 
would  nail  one  there.  It  is  larger  than  I  imagined, 
but  anybody  who  sails  beyond  the  Great  Bear  to  see 
it  makes  a  bad  investment.  Last  night  we  had  both 
in  the  sky.     It  is  amusing  to  note  the  ennui  of  people 

[74] 


CALL  AND  TRANSFER  TO  CALIFORNIA 

who  can't  read,  write  or  think.  One  passenger  to-day 
sat  with  a  very  down-cast  countenance,  then  yawned 
and  said:  "Oh,  God!  If  I  could  only  go  to  work 
once  more  and  work  all  day  like  the  Devil!" 

"At  Aspinwall,  April  13th,  i860. 
"We  reached  the  harbor  of  Aspinwall  on  the 
Isthmus  before  daylight  this  morning,  having  made 
the  passage  from  New  York  in  7  days,  18  hours. 
There  is  very  little  twilight  in  the  low  latitudes,  and 
it  was  not  until  sunrise,  that  we  saw  the  vegetation 
which  clothed  the  flat  curving  coast  around  the 
steamer.  The  first  burst  of  sunshine  kindled  up  a 
vast  extent  of  verdure  of  a  more  vivid  poll-parrot-y 
tone  in  its  green  that  I  have  ever  seen  before.  The 
first  object  that  fastened  my  eyes  was  a  grove  of 
cocoanut  trees;  their  branches  spread  out  from  the 
top  of  their  trunks.  They  look  precisely  like  huge 
peacock  feathers,  and  when  the  breeze  pitched  them 
about,  they  looked  like  the  hair  of  an  uncombed  boy, 
blown  by  the  wind  ^every  which  way/  Two  U.  S. 
steamers  were  lying  at  anchor  in  the  harbor  of  Aspin- 
wall. A  boat  load  of  their  sailors,  in  full  blue,  rowed 
past  our  ship  to  the  wharf.  Edith,  who  was  on  the 
watch  for  all  novelties,  exclaimed,  'Father,  there 
are  the  natives,  what  queer  looking  people!'  In  ten 
minutes  after  we  reached  the  wharf,  900  people  had 
jumped  ashore  from  our  vessel,  and  rushed  to  the 
various  little  hotels  and  eating  rooms.  The  cars 
were  to  leave  about  7.30  a.  m.  for  Panama.  We 
stayed  on  board  to  pack  up  our  score  or  two  of  bun- 
dles, just  gaining  the  train  in  season,  and  at  7.30 
started  for  the  Pacific.  The  steerage  passengers  had 
been  sent  in  a  train  ahead.  There  were  8  oars  filled 
with  the  first  and  second  cabin  travellers,  each  car 

[7S] 


THOMAS  STARR  KING 

seating  more  than  60.     The  Railroad  Company  re- 
ceived $25  for  each  passenger  and  10  cents  per  lb. 
for  all  luggage  over  50  lbs.  for  each  person.     The 
two   trains   this  morning  paid  them  over  $25,000. 
The  distance  across  the  Isthmus  from  ocean  to  ocean 
is  about  48  miles.     We  were  about  3  hours  by  the 
cars  on  the  passage.     I  did  not  sit  down  the  whole 
way,  but  stood  in  the  doorway,  and  on  the  platform 
to  enjoy  all  that  possibly  could  be  seen  of  the  new 
landscape.     It  was  very  striking  certainly;  and  yet  I 
must  confess  to  a  little  disappointment.     It  was  not 
the  Isthmus  of  my  imagination,  chiefly  because  the 
colors  were  not  as  rich  as  I  had  anticipated.     But 
the  rainy  season  has  not  yet  set  in.     The  flowers,  I 
presume,  do  not  enliven  the  forest  with  their  bloom 
until  the  rains  of  May  and  June  water  the  soil.     Still 
the  ride  was  crammed  with  interest.     We  plunged 
into  a  tropic  swamp  at  once  on  leaving  Aspinwall, 
and  rushed  through  the  characteristic  leafage  of  the 
lands  near  the  Equator.     Orange  and  lemon  trees, 
palms  with  great  bunches  of  red  nuts  from  which  the 
palm  oil  is  extracted,  drooping  from  them;  cocoanut 
trees;   cottonwoods;   mahogany  trees;   India-rubber 
trees,  with  vines  running  ofif  from  their  high  tops 
to  the  ground,  like  the  cordage  from  a  tall  mast;  all 
sorts  of  queer  rank  ferns  and  shrubbery,  with  the 
huge  banana  leaf  generally  overtopping  them  as  if 
in  glee  that  nothing  else  could  grow  so  fast;  and  here 
and  there  a  large  tree  like  a  leviathan  lilac  with  no 
leaves,  but  bursting  from  every  twig-point  with  yel- 
low and  crimson  splendor.     Such  was  the  kind  of 
feast  through  which  we  were  whirled.     The  day  was 
not  so  oppressive  in  heat,  as  I  feared  it  might  be. 
There  was  breeze  enough  to  save  us  from  suffocation. 
I  have  often  suffered  twice  as  much  from  heat  in  a 

[76] 


CALL  AND  TRANSFER  TO  CALIFORNIA 

ride  from  Boston  to  Portland  in  June.  The  most 
fascinating  portions  of  the  ride  were  the  negro  huts 
and  their  surroundings.  Here  and  there,  we  came 
upon  a  white,  pine,  Yankee  house,  with  bright  green 
blinds,  and  perhaps  a  bar  with  bad  liquor  to  sell. 
Some  employe  of  the  road,  probably,  was  tenant. 
It  was  a  sad  blotch  upon  the  tropic  wilderness,  with 
its  uncouth  shape,  and  its  dazzling  blaze  in  the 
powerful  sunshine.  But  the  negro  huts  were  charm- 
ing. They  were  mostly  sheds,  roofed  very  tastily 
with  dry  palm  leaves.  They  looked  quite  cool 
among  the  bananas,  cocoanuts  and  thriving  palms  of 
the  garden  spot  that  generally  surrounds  them;  now 
and  then  they  were  embowered  in  splendid  flowering 
vines.  The  negro  children  in  the  doorways  were 
usually  naked.  Almost  all  of  them  were  as  corpulent 
as  little  aldermen,  showing  that  they  take  life  easy, 
and  laugh  and  grow  fat.  A  large  portion  of  the 
men  were  three-quarters  naked.  Their  skins  were 
certainly  the  finest  in  hue  and  seemingly  in  texture, 
I  have  ever  seen.  They  looked  like  images  cast  in 
golden  bronze.  Whether  they  are  Nubians  or  a 
cross  between  the  native  Indian  and  the  negro,  I 
could  not  learn,  but  they  certainly  are  the  most  splen- 
did specimens  of  color  in  human  shape  I  have  fallen 
in  with,  and  put  the  Caucasian  hue  to  shame.  That 
is  the  color  Providence  intends  for  the  tropics.  It 
harmonizes  with  the  scenery.  The  Venus  and 
Apollo  of  that  latitude,  should  not  be  marble  figures, 
but  vital,  moving  figures.  We  followed  the  wind- 
ings of  the  Chagres  River  for  30  miles.  The  immi- 
grants, 10  or  12  years  ago,  were  taken  up  this  stream 
in  boats,  hundreds  of  them  catching  fever  on  the 
passage.  The  scenery  must  have  been  extremely  fas- 
cinating then, — when  the  swamps  had  not  been  in- 

[77] 


THOMAS  STARR  KING 

vaded  by  axe  or  fire,  and  the  windings  of  the  stream 
were  opening  continual  surprises  of  the  richest  fol- 
iage and  bloom.  As  we  approached  the  Pacific  coast, 
we  could  see  mountain  heights,  green  to  the  summit, 
through  openings  in  the  forest.  The  foliage  was 
less  interesting  the  last  quarter  of  the  way;  yet  the 
excitement  increased,  for  we  were  soon  to  see  the 
blue  bosom  of  the  other  ocean. 

"At  Panama. 

"As  soon  as  the  mile  posts  indicated  'five  miles'  to 
the  terminus,  I  kept  a  sharp  look-out,  leaning  over 
the  step  of  the  car  on  the  platform.  At  last  a  sharp 
turn  showed  a  huge  cocoanut  tree,  whose  flaunting 
top  was  flashing  in  the  light,  and  directly  beyond  it 
the  two  towers  of  an  old  time-stained  cathedral. 
Beyond  was  an  expanse  of  azure  sleeping  in  the  hot 
noon.  This  was  Panama,  slowly  crumbling  into  pic- 
turesqueness  on  the  shore  of  its  lovely  Pacific  bay. 
The  view  gave  us  a  moment  of  poetry,  but  it  was  fol- 
lowed by  an  hour  of  decided  prose.  Such  a  rush  and 
crush  as  there  was,  when  our  i;oo  souls  poured  from 
the  train.  Almost  everybody  had  some  package  or 
heap  of  traps  to  be  carried  by  hand.  And  we  were 
all  to  be  packed  on  a  little  ferry  boat,  which  would 
take  us  out  over  the  shoal  bay,  three  miles  to  the 
steamer  in  waiting.  I  hired  two  negroes,  loaded 
them  with  camp  stools,  shawls,  overcoats,  bottles  of 
cider,  pots  of  pickled  oysters,  a  package  of  crack- 
ers, and  a  large  French  valise,  and  we  struck  for  the 
boat.  When  we  had  been  pushed  by  the  crowd  half 
way  up  to  the  boat,  I  discovered  that  our  carpet  bag 
with  lots  of  clean  clothing,  my  dressing  case  and 
some  sermons  in  it  had  been  left  behind.  I  dis- 
patched Sarah  Kennedy  to  find  it,  and  we  were  borne 

[78] 


CALL  AND  TRANSFER  TO  CALIFORNIA 

on  by  the  living  tide  to  the  ferry  boat.  The  gangway 
was  about  two  feet  wide,  and  through  this,  which 
kept  swaying  by  the  tide,  we  were  to  be  squeezed  into 
the  boat.  This  was  the  most  trying  operation  of  the 
voyage.  At  last  the  feat  was  accomplished,  and  we 
found  ourselves  wedged  into  the  mass  of  beings  on 
the  deck.  Soon  Sarah  returned  with  the  bag,  and 
we  were  off  for  the  steamer.  We  had  in  tow  a  huge 
scow  on  which  the  steerage  passengers  were  freighted 
like  a  swarm  of  bees ;  and  thus  we  went,  a  thousand 
human  beings,  women  looking  disconsolate,  men 
swearing,  lots  of  people  frightened  from  fear  we 
should  upset,  everybody  separated  from  the  person 
he  or  she  wanted,  nobody  able  to  move,  children  cry- 
ing, babies  screaming — to  the  boat  that  was  to  take 
us  to  San  Francisco.  In  half  an  hour  we  were  along- 
side. We  were  told  in  the  New  York  office,  that  we 
should  connect  with  the  Golden  Age  or  the  John 
L.  Stephens.  Either  of  them  would  have  been  large 
enough  to  accommodate  our  cabin  passengers.  It 
was  the  Sonora,  the  smallest,  oldest,  slowest,  dirtiest 
boat  of  the  four  chief  ones  on  this  side.  The  Sonora 
had  not  state-rooms  enough.  Fifty  first-class  pas- 
sengers must  be  without  rooms.  We  found,  too,  on 
arrival,  that  we  were  not  to  leave  at  once.  We  must 
wait  for  the  arrival  of  the  New  Orleans  boat  at 
Aspinwall,  and  the  transfer  of  her  passengers  and 
mails  to  our  boat.  This  will  certainly  detain  us  a 
day,  perhaps  longer, — an  arrangement  which  is  one 
of  the  beauties  of  the  new  combination  with  Vander- 
bilt. 

"Last  evening  was  delightful  as  we  lay  still  in  the 
Bay  of  Panama.  It  is  a  most  lovely  sheet  of  water. 
The  town,  with  its  old  cathedral  towers,  is  about  2 
miles  from  the  ship's  anchorage.     There  are  several 

[79] 


THOMAS  STARR  KING 

rocky  walled  islands  near,  and  back  from  the  city 
rise  charming  mountain  heights  and  ranges,  some 
very  high  ones  stretching  back  in  the  hot  haze,  while 
in  front  of  the  curving  harbor,  sleeps  the  blue  Pacific. 
The  water  setting  resembles  the  shores  of  Lake  Win- 
nipiseogee  more  than  any  other  spot  I  have  ever  seen. 
One  distant  mountain  was  almost  a  duplicate  in  shape 
of  Chocorua.  Another  height  strangely  resembled 
the  swell  and  summits  of  the  Belknap  Hills,  and  the 
irregular  forms  strongly  remind  one  of  the  mountain 
rim  that  holds  that  gem  of  New  Hampshire.  But 
there  is  a  richer  color  steadily  swathing  these  island 
mountains.  The  foliage  on  them  in  the  distance  has 
a  crisp  and  knotted  look,  making  you  think  of  hair 
done  up  in  curl  papers.  There  is  more  fire  in  the 
color.  The  hills  of  New  Hampshire  are  more  like 
cool  emeralds,  or  pale  sapphires,  in  their  natural 
quality.  These  are  big  rubies,  and  seem  ready  at 
the  right  angle  of  light,  to  glow  ruddy  through  and 
through.  After  the  calm  sunset  we  watched  for  the 
phosphorescence  on  the  water.  The  waters  of  the 
harbor  are  famous  for  it  and  we  were  not  disap- 
pointed. Other  waters  sparkle  with  this  phosphorus, 
but  these  seem  to  be  a  mass  of  gleaming  silver, — a 
lake  of  quicksilver.  A  boat  was  tethered  to  our 
steamer  by  a  small  rope  which  lay  a  foot  deep  in  the 
water.  As  it  swayed  up  and  down  it  seemed  to  be 
a  silver  cord  rising  and  falling  on  the  gentle  swell. 
Every  dip  of  an  oar,  when  a  boat  went  by  us,  turned 
up  liquid  light.  Splash  the  water  and  it  made  a 
spatter  of  stars.  Dip  your  hand  in  it  and  as  the 
stream  ran  ofTf,  your  fingers  were  lambent  with  the 
strange  flame.  There  were  lots  of  pelicans  flying 
about  the  bay.  They  would  rise  several  rods  above 
the  water,  and  suddenly  drop  down,  as  if  they  were 

[80] 


CALL  AND  TRANSFER  TO  CALIFORNIA 

shot,  splashing  up  the  water  beautifully,  and  sinking 
in  it  after  some  fish,  which  was  quickly  transferred 
from  the  large  pouch  of  the  Pacific  to  the  smaller 
pouch  of  the  pelican.  I  watched  them  a  long  while 
on  the  hot  morning,  and  came  to  the  conclusion  that 
it  is  hard  work  to  get  a  living  on  this  globe.  A  peli- 
can certainly  works  his  passage,  but  I  suppose  it  is-, 
'attractive  industry.'  I  was  really  sorry  to  leave 
Panama.  But  we  have  kept  the  shore  in  sight  all  the 
afternoon.  Our  course  is  still  South,  in  order  to- 
clear  the  headlands  of  the  bay,  which  stretch  south- 
west. We  shall  be  within  400  miles  of  the  base  of 
Chimborazo,  before  morning.  How  I  wish  the 
steamer  would  run  down  there  before  heading  for 
San  Francisco." 

"On  the  Pacific,  Sunday,  April  15th. 
"The  passengers  insisted  upon  having  service.  I 
preached  a  Palm  Sunday  service  on  'Jesus  a  King' 
from  Luke  19th,  25th,  etc.  The  preaching  was  in  the 
dining  saloon,  and  persons  on  the  guards  outside 
could  hear  through  the  windows.  There  was  a 
large  attendance,  fine  singing, — and  preaching  noth- 
ing more  than  poor.  There  was  a  whale  in  sight  to- 
day. He  spurted  and  leaped,  showing  his  flippers 
quite  near  the  steamer.  This  evening  the  sunset  was 
superb,  the  colors,  particularly  the  green,  deep  be- 
tween the  cirrus  clouds,  were  of  marvellous  beauty. 
Julia  has  not  been  sick  to-day,  but  she  does  not  go  to 
the  table,  eats  very  little  and  very  daintily,  and  seems 
to  be  afflicted  with  a  strange,  nervous  wretchedness 
on  deck.  She  was  not  made  for  a  sailor,  and  does 
not  enjoy  a  single  sight  or  moment  on  the  ocean. 
Edith  is  as  frisky  as  a  colt,  and  as  much  at  home  on 
the  steamer  as  if  she  were  in  Burroughs  Place  or  with 

[81] 


THOMAS  STARR  KING 

Grandmother  Wiggin.  I  forgot  to  state  that  I  was 
put  as  room-mate  with  Mr.  Lambert  and  Mr.  Brooks, 
two  of  the  trustees  of  the  Unitarian  Society  in  San 
Francisco." 

"At  Sea,  Sunday,  April  22. 
"I  preached  at  10:30  this  morning  in  the  dining 
saloon.  It  is  a  hard  trial  to  the  voice  to  speak  in  the 
low,  long  room,  and  against  the  dull,  plodding  sound 
of  the  machinery  and  wheels.  A  large  number  at- 
tended. The  text  was  Psalm  xlii:  i,  a  favorite  text 
with  me. — 'As  the  hart  panteth  after  the  water- 
brooks,  so  panteth  my  heart  after  thee,  O  God.' 
But  it  seemed  to  me  as  though  all  the  vitality  of  the 
sermon,  and  of  all  possible  preaching  is  taken  out  by 
the  restricted  limits,  and  the  dull  roar  in  the  ears.  I 
wonder  if  any  soul  was  ever  saved,  where  the  man 
was  obliged  to  hold  his  hand  to  his  ear  and  lost  an 
important  word  now  and  then.  In  the  afternoon 
I  preached  in  the  steerage.  Service  was  at  2 
o'clock.  I  spoke  without  notes,  preaching  from  John 
xvi,  33. — *In  the  world  ye  shall  have  tribulation;  but 
be  of  good  cheer,  I  have  overcome  the  world.'  I 
stood  on  the  upper  deck  near  the  bow,  with  my  back 
to  it,  and  the  breeze  carried  the  voice  forward  very 
kindly.  There  was  a  large  attendance,  and  the  as- 
sembly seemed  very  attentive  and  reverent.  There 
were  two  or  three  Methodist  local  preachers  or  ex- 
horters  among  the  steerage  passengers  and  they  led 
the  singing,  which  was  strong  and  hearty.  There 
was  no  awning.  I  spoke  with  my  hat  off  under  the 
high  sun  and  with  my  hair  blowing  like  the  cocoa- 
nut  leaves.  I  spoke  more  easily  and  with  better  com- 
mand of  the  subject  than  I  expected ;  but  so  feebly  in 
comparison  with  the  power  of  a  genuine  born  extern- 

[82] 


CALL  AND  TRANSFER  TO  CALIFORNIA 

pore  speaker.  How  Beecher  would  have  done  it! 
I  was  not  made  for  such  address;  but  I  enjoyed  the 
service  far  more  than  in  the  cabin,  and  am  very  glad 
I  was  called  to  it.  I  found  several  intelligent  men 
among  the  hearers,  and  had  a  long  talk  with  them 
afterwards.  They  say  that  there  are  at  least  500  in 
the  steerage.  (The  officers  confess  to  only  300.) 
And  they  say,  too,  that  many  of  the  passengers  paid 
"^iijo,  $160,  and  $170  for  their  tickets,  in  the  regular 
office  too  in  New  York.  This  evening  the  sky  was 
glorious.  It  was  the  richest  night  yet.  The  new 
moon,  visible  on  the  very  horizon,  and  with  horns 
up,  sank  like  a  silver  gondola,  towards  the  Sandwich 
Islands.  Venus  was  as  large  as  a  peach  and  washed 
acres  of  the  sea  with  gentle  splendor.  Jupiter 
glowed  like  a  white  coal  nearly  in  the  zenith.  On 
one  side  of  the  ship  was  the  north  star,  low  in  the 
sky,  overhung  by  the  brilliant  dipper  upside  down. 
On  the  other  side  the  Southern  Cross.  The  whole 
southern  portion  of  the  heavens  was  strewn  with  mag- 
nificent stars.  It  was  the  most  lustrous  night  I  have 
ever  seen.  *He  telleth  the  number  of  the  stars:  He 
calleth  them  all  by  their  names.'  " 

There  follows  in  his  journal  a  vivid  description  of 
the  visit  and  sojourn  of  the  vessel  in  the  harbor  of 
Acapulco,  Mexico;  but  it  is  too  long  for  insertion 
here.  Mr.  King  continued  his  record  of  daily  ex- 
periences until  the  arrival  of  the  steamship  at  its  des- 
tination. 

*'In  Port,  Monday,  April  30th. 

'^We  are  in  San  Francisco!  The  passage  into  the 
bay  through  the  Golden  Gate  was  very  interesting. 
The  passage  is  made  between  rocks  on  one  side  and 

[83] 


THOMAS  STARR  KING 

a  steep  mountain  on  the  other.  The  mountain  has 
no  trees,  but  was  covered  to  the  top  with  a  carpet  of 
flowers,  wild  flowers.  There  were  more  flowers  than 
green.  The  hues  were  violet,  yellow,  red,  and  saf- 
fron, and  the  effect  was  inexpressibly  charming.  It 
was  as  striking  as  our  October  tints,  but  as  different 
as  possible,  being  literally  a  carpet,  or  rather  a  huge 
plushy,  richly  wrought  rug.  There  was  not  a  stone 
on  the  mountain  side  to  mar  the  soft  and  pleasant  ef- 
fect. Julia  did  not  lift  her  head  from  the  berth,  to 
see  anything  as  we  went  in.  She  was  not  moved  to 
be  dressed  until  the  steamer  was  moored.  Then  she 
was  lifted  and  carried  out.  The  committee  of  the 
parish  were  in  waiting  on  the  pier  and  gave  me  as 
hearty  a  reception  as  could  be  imagined.  They  had 
given  notice  there  would  be  no  service  on  the  Sun- 
day, under  the  impression  that  I  should  be  too  tired 
or  weak  to  preach.  But  I  induced  them  to  counter- 
mand the  order,  although  it  was  3  o'clock  P.  M.  when 
we  reached  the  pier.  Julia  was  taken  in  charge  at 
once  in  a  carriage,  and  we  drove  to  the  Oriental 
Hotel,  a  forlorn  looking  wooden  building  in  a 
wretched  part  of  the  city,  but  the  best  kept  house  in 
the  place.  We  have  a  sitting  room  with  two  bad- 
smelling  bed-rooms  leading  from  it.  A  few  minutes 
after  we  sat  down,  we  had  a  box  of  magnificent  straw- 
berries sent  to  us,  or  rather  to  Julia,  and  a  splendid 
bouquet,  with  compliments  of  Mrs.  Otis.  The  ber- 
ries were  very  large  and  were  delicious.  Yesterday 
morning  was  superb.  There  were  no  clouds,  and 
it  was  not  hot.  Although  notice  was  given  only  in 
a  Sunday  morning  paper  of  the  service,  the  church 
was  crowded;  every  aisle  was  full,  and  a  hundred 
went  away  unable  to  get  in.  The  singing  was  ex- 
cellent.    The  sermon  seemed  to  impress  the  people, 

[84] 


CALL  AND  TRANSFER  TO  CALIFORNIA 

and  the  parish  appear  to  be  in  the  highest  spirits. 
They  take  up  a  contribution  here  at  each  service  in 
addition  to  the  pew  rents.  The  collection  yesterday 
was  $ioo.  There  was  no  service  in  the  evening. 
This  morning  I  drove  out  before  breakfast  to  see  the 
country  within  a  few  miles.  The  flowers  in  the  fields 
are  wonderful  in  their  mass,  color  and  variety.  That 
is  all  that  has  impressed  me  favorably  as  yet.  The 
city  is  very  queer,  and  very  uninteresting  to  Eastern 
eyes.  It  is  a  vast  struggle  of  houses  over  half  a 
dozen  sand  hills,  and  the  streets  are  bilious  with 
Chinamen.  But  I  can't  tell  as  yet  how,  or  what,  I 
shall  like.  Julia  is  better,  and  is  fast  regaining 
strength  by  firm  land,  rest  and  eating.  The  living  at 
the  hotel  is  very  good.  The  'overland  mail'  closes 
in  half  an  hour,  and  I  must  stop  suddenly  to  get  these 
hasty  sheets  of¥.  We  have  every  call  to  be  grateful 
for  preservation  on  the  sea  from  storm  and  fire,  and 
for  the  friends  that  welcome  us  in  this  far  of¥  post  by 
the  Pacific. 

^'Te  Deum  Laudamus." 


[8s] 


CHAPTER  V 

THE  NEW  FIELD  IN   SAN   FRANCISCO 

THOMAS  STARR  KING,  as  we  have  seen, 
entered  the  Golden  Gate  on  Saturday,  the 
28th  of  April,  i860,  and  the  next  morning 
the  Unitarian  Church,  on  Stockton  near  California 
Street,  was  filled  with  a  large  and  eager  audience  of 
intelligent  and  influential  citizens  of  San  Francisco, 
to  whom  he  preached  a  sea-written  discourse  on  the 
text:  "And  they  shall  come  from  the  east  and  the 
west,  and  from  the  north  and  from  the  south,  and 
shall  sit  down  in  the  Kingdom  of  God."  Mr.  King 
in  a  letter  to  a  friend  ^  thus  describes  his  first  im- 
pressions. "I  felt  lonely  enough  and  yet  hopeful. 
I  couldn't  help  crying  like  a  baby  when  I  first  went 
into  the  pulpit  in  thinking  of  all  that  I  had  left  be- 
hind at  the  east,  and  then,  I  hope,  I  cried  no  less  in- 
tensely to  the  Lord.  The  weather  on  Sunday  was 
Italian;  since  then  it  has  been  the  wretchedest  possi- 
ble, after  the  Boston  type.  I  have  not,  therefore, 
seen  anything  yet  but  the  dreary,  decrepit-looking 
city.  But  I  shall  like  it  here,  I  am  sure.  Preaching 
I  shall  enjoy  as  never  before.  The  parish  are  in 
high  spirits.     The  mammon  side  of  the  establishment 

1  Rev.  A.  A.  Livermore. 

[86] 


THE  NEW  FIELD  IN  SAN  FRANCISCO 

is  already  successful.  It  remains  to  be  seen  if  we 
can  serve  the  other  master." 

In  the  congregation  assembled  to  listen  to  him 
that  morning  the  expectation  was  great.  When  he 
edged  his  way  down  the  closely  packed  aisles  to  the 
pulpit  the  disappointment  of  his  hearers  was  general. 
"Could  this  slender,  youthful  looking  man,  with  his 
beardless,  boyish  face  and  long,  lank  hair,  be  the 
celebrated  preacher,  Thomas  Starr  King?"  And, 
indeed,  Mr.  King's  personal  appearance  was  not  cal- 
culated to  impress  you  with  his  talent  and  power. 
He  used  to  complain  humorously  that  his  want  of 
size  especially  told  against  him  in  that  country  of 
big  waterfalls,  big  trees  and  big  vegetables.  "But," 
he  would  add  humorously,  "though  I  weigh  only 
1 20  pounds,  when  I  am  mad  I  weigh  a  ton!" 

The  Hindu  Theist,  J.  C.  Gangooly,  one  of  the  first 
of  the  Brahmin  fraternity  to  visit  America,  was  once 
invited  by  Mr.  King  to  address  his  congregation  at 
Hollis  Street.  Looking  around  him  admiringly 
Gangooly  began:  "You  have  a  beautiful  church. 
You  have  a  most  excellent  minister.  And  what  a 
noble  name  he  bears!  Starr,  a  luminary  in  the 
heavens;  King,  a  ruler  among  men!"  Then  turn- 
ing around  in  the  pulpit  to  Mr.  King  sitting  behind 
him,  he  added,  "Well,  he  does  not  look  it!" 

As  that  morning  he  put  on  the  ministerial  gown 
which  he  always  wore  in  the  pulpit,  partly,  perhaps, 
to  round  out  his  deficient  physical  proportions,  all 
eyes  were  fixed  upon  him  with  suspense.     But  the 

[87] 


THOMAS  STARR  KING 

moment  the  tones  of  his  rich  and  resonant  voice  were 
heard  the  anxiety  was  dispelled,  and  confidence  and 
delight  took  its  place,  which  the  exercises  and 
sermon  confirmed.  From  that  first  Sunday  Starr 
King's  reputation  as  an  orator  was  established  in 
San  Francisco.  Crowds  attended  the  Sunday  serv- 
ices and  his  fame  spread  all  over  the  state.  Not  a 
few  came  quite  regularly  every  Saturday  night  by 
river  boat  from  Sacramento  and  other  interior  points 
to  hear  his  Sunday  discourses.  His  parish  was  soon 
unequaled  in  the  city  for  the  social  and  business 
standing,  and  the  intellectual  and  moral  worth  of  its 
membership. 

Not  long  after  his  arrival  Mr.  King  set  about 
clearing  off  the  accumulated  indebtedness  of  the 
church,  which  amounted  to  some  $20,000.  Having 
succeeded  in  this  he  began  a  subscription  towards  a 
new  and  larger  church  edifice,  which  was  urgently 
needed,  raising  in  all  some  $80,000  towards  this  ob- 
ject. In  return  Mr.  King's  San  Francisco  parish- 
ioners sent  him  on  Christmas  Day,  i860,  a  splendid 
service  of  silver,  as  an  expression  of  their  good  will 
and  gratitude. 

Mr.  King's  own  impressions  of  his  new  field  of 
labor  are  recorded  in  letters  to  his  eastern  friends. 

"By  Pony  Express, 
"San  Francisco,  May  nth,  i860. 
'^My  dear  Fox:  ^ 

"I  send  you  a  word  of  greeting  through  the  Rocky 

1  Rev.  Thomas  B.  Fox,  one  of  the  editors  of  the  Boston  Evening  Tran- 
script. 

[88] 


THE  NEW  FIELD  IN  SAN  FRANCISCO 

Mountains.  Is  not  the  Pony  Express  a  right-down 
California  institution?  Snorting  through  the  passes 
of  the  Rocky  Mountains  at  a  rate  that  beats  the 
steamers  8  days  in  getting  letters  through  to  New 
York  and  Boston.  Prices  are  moderate,  $5  a  letter, 
cheap  for  the  luxury  of  writing  to  you.  I  would  pay 
$10  to  see  you.  My  wife  would  contribute  another, 
no  doubt.  But  it  would  require  more  than  two 
^eagles' '  wings  to  bring  you  here  by  sea,  or  over  the 
great  crests  where  the  eagles  roost. 

"You  have  seen  my  journal,  which  probably  told 
you  how  we  fared  and  when  we  arrived.  We  have 
been  here  two  weeks  to-morrow.  The  parish  enter- 
prise is  already  successful  beyond  the  most  sanguine 
expectations  of  the  leaders.  The  income  of  the 
society  will  pay  my  salary  and  leave  a  large  surplus 
to  sponge  off  something  of  the  debt.  It  is  a  noble 
place  to  preach  in,  and  they  need  it.  The  city  as  a 
place  to  live  in — O  mein  Gottf  As  a  business  centre 
and  illustration  of  the  magic  of  Yankee  enterprise, 
Aladdin's  lamp  feats  are  pale  before  it.  And  it  is 
something  like  the  Aladdin  business.  For  this  city 
has  been  four  times  burned  down.  But  the  harder 
the  rubs,  the  more  miraculous  the  magic  here.  I 
have  been  some  fifty  miles  into  the  country  already 
and  have  seen  some  scenery  that  could  not  be  sur- 
passed for  color.  I  shall  enjoy  my  work  here,  and 
the  country  will  be  a  perpetual  resource  and  delight. 

"  I  forgot  to  thank  you  elaborately  for  your  admir- 
able White  Mountain  article,  and  your  friendly  but 
excessive  praise  of  the  author's  work.  The  book 
won't  pay  me  pecuniarily  (I  have  not  realized  $500 
from  it,  and  its  sale,  I  suspect,  is  about  over)  but  it 
has  paid  me  in  compliments  and  kind  words,  among 
which  yours  are  chief  and  welcome.     You  spoke  of  a 

[89] 


THOMAS  STARR  KING 

letter  of  mine  in  the  Transcript  on  the  Bay  as  good. 
Singularly  I  received  at  the  same  time  a  letter  from 
a  friend  of  taste,  in  Boston,  who  thought  I  must  be 
seriously  sick,  as  that  letter  was  so  poor.  .  .  .  But 
how  charming  K.  C.'s  pieces  are!  I  read  them  with 
constant  delight  and  admiration.  They  ought  to  be 
printed  one  of  these  days.  Then  my  book  will  be  in 
shadow. 

"I  dined  the  other  day  with  the  new  Republican 
Senator  from  Oregon,  Col.  Baker,  at  Col.  Fremont's. 
Baker  and  I  arranged  for  a  hunting  party  in  Oregon 
among  the  great  Cascade  Mountains,  next  June.  I 
am  a  missionary  and  shall  carry  the  Gospel  to  the 
deer  people.  Mrs.  Jessie  Fremont  was  here  last 
evening  to  show  us  the  medal  and  decorations  sent  to 
her  husband  from  Berlin  this  week,  with  news  of  his 
election  into  an  order  there.  He  takes  the  place  of 
Macaulay.     Yours  in  exile, 

"T.  S.  K." 

To  Randolph  Ryer: 

"San  Francisco,  August  5th,  i860. 

"If  I  am  to  be  absent  two  years,  one-sixth  of  the 
time  has  passed.  I  can't  say  that  I  look  forward  with 
jubilance  to  a  stay  here  five  times  as  long  in  the  future. 
But  I  feel  very  sure  that  I  shall  not  get  away  in  less 
time  than  that.  I  want  to  see  all  the  debt  of  the 
society  paid,  a  new  organ  bought,  a  new  church-front 
erected,  a  new  parish  started  in  another  part  of  the 
city,  and  a  good  man  invited  and  on  hand  to  step  into 
my  place.  Will  not  this  require  full  two  years?  I 
think  so.  Last  Wednesday  I  spoke  to  the  negroes  on 
Emancipation  Day,  and  had  a  rich  time.  You  would 
have  been  fully  satisfied  with  the  eloquence  of  the 
sable  admirer  who  introduced  me.     He  described 

[90] 


THE  NEW  FIELD  IN  SAN  FRANCISCO 

me  as  riding  on  the  livid  lightnings  of  my  eloquence 
over  the  Sierras,  and  carried  out  beyond  the  corusca- 
tions of  the  galaxies,  and  hoped  that  in  my  dying 
apathy,  When  I  caught  a  glimpse  of  my  terrestial 
home,  I  might  soar  on  the  wings  of  immortal  mind  to 
the  Infinite  that  would  be  anxiously  awaiting  me.  It 
was  great!  Thank  you  for  the  sermons  on  Theodore 
Parker  by  James  Freeman  Clarke  and  O.  B.  Froth- 
ingham.  The  last  is  the  most  able  analysis  of  Par- 
ker's gifts  that  I  have  seen.  I,  also,  spoke  of  Parker 
in  a  sermon  which  I  once  decided  to  print,  but  re- 
considered." 

To  his  friend  Alger  he  wrote  some  months  later: 

"San  Francisco,  November  5th,  i860. 
"Yesterday  was  Sunday;  and  yet  the  Sonora  dared 
to  steam  into  port,  having  no  fear  of  Presbyterian 
indignation,  and  brought  the  mail,  of  which  your 
letter  was  the  gem.  After  preaching  to  a  full  con- 
gregation in  the  morning,  I  refreshed  myself  thor- 
oughly with  your  wise  and  friendly  words,  that  lost 
no  particle  of  worth  or  flavor  in  their  flight  of  six 
thousand  miles.  I  am  deeply  indebted  for  the  privi- 
lege of  a  peep  through  your  stereoscope  at  Martineau 
embracing  Dr.  Dewey.  How  exquisite,  yet  sad,  the 
music  of  their  duet!  The  only  quarrel  I  have  with 
the  government  of  this  Universe  is  that  such  men 
can't  have  the  power — or  their  friends  for  them — 
of  buying  up  the  vitality  of  a  score  or  so  of  worthless 
creatures,  that  they  may  be  kept  in  the  maturity  of 
their  glorious  genius  here  for  two  or  three  genera- 
tions. Some  Ponce  de  Leon  will  yet  discover  the 
pool  in  which  the  intellectual  aristocracy  can  thus 
be  rejuvenated.     But  think  of  Dr.  N.  A.  taking  a 

[91] 


THOMAS  STARR  KING 

bath  in  it,  and  holding  over  for  a  century  to  lecture 
to  us  on  Gehenna! 

"The  weather  here  is  delightful  now.  We  have 
had  some  showers  in  October,  and  the  hills  are 
showing  a  tint  of  green.  It  is  our  spring  time. 
Every  day  we  are  out  without  overcoats;  the  scenery 
surrounding  the  city  is  inspiring  with  beauty.  Mt. 
Diablo  is  visible  from  the  gate  at  my  front  yard, 
and  strongly  resembles  Mt.  Washington  seen  from 
Winnipiseogee.  It  is  a  superb  dessert  to  my  break- 
fast every  morning — bearing  up  a  dome  nobly 
moulded  and  graciously  adorned  with  flashing  grey, 
and  violet  shadows,  back  of  a  long,  torn  range  of 
hills  into  the  sky.  From  my  library  windows  we  see 
the  range  of  hills  that  heave  up  from  the  Pacific,  and 
east  of  them  40  miles  of  the  dreaming  bay.  I  miss 
Boston  more  and  more,  and  yet  my  feeling  is  not 
homesickness.  Am  I  beginning  to  feel  the  fascina- 
tion of  this  region,  which  they  say,  unfits  one  for  liv- 
ing anywhere  else,  although  we  may  feel  eager  now 
and  then  to  get  away? 

''Our  church  continues  full.  In  the  evening  our 
own  people  generally  stay  at  home,  and  yet  the  seats 
are  all  filled  with  strangers.  So  I  preach  to  a  double- 
barrelled  congregation.  Monday  evenings  I  have  a 
large  class  for  religious  instruction.  We  meet  in  the 
church.  About  200  attend  regularly.  I  lecture  ex- 
tempore for  an  hour  on  Matthew." 

The  writer  has  sometimes  pondered  what  it  was 
that  so  attracted  the  average  man  and  woman  of  that 
day  to  Mr.  King's  preaching.  He  had  certainly  in  no 
sense  a  popular  style  in  the  pulpit.  His  discourses, 
all  read  from  the  manuscript,  were  mostly  on  phil- 

[92] 


THE  NEW  FIELD  IN  SAN  FRANCISCO 

osophical  and  spiritual  themes,  and  were  classical 
in  form,  elegant,  even  ornate,  in  language,  and  digni- 
fied and  chaste  in  delivery.  There  were  no  let- 
downs in  them,  or  other  concessions  to  the  vulgar 
taste.  This  elevation  and  spirituality  naturally  edi- 
fied the  more  intelligent  and  religiously  inclined 
among  his  hearers.  In  those  days  the  sermon  was 
still  regarded  as  literature.  The  preacher  considered 
it  as  not  simply  a  work  of  edification,  but  of  art,  ap- 
pealing not  only  to  man's  intellect,  conscience  and 
heart,  but  to  his  sense  of  the  beautiful  also.  The 
congregations  Starr  King  addressed  were  for  the 
most  part  thoughtful,  well  educated  and  serious. 
Religion  was  to  them  not  a  fleeting  sentiment,  a 
momentary  impression,  but  the  transfiguration 
of  the  entire  life  by  ethical  ideals  and  spiritual 
trusts. 

The  solemnity  and  beauty  of  his  prayers,  the  re- 
markable impressiveness  of  his  reading  of  Scripture 
and  hymn,  and  the  electric  quality  of  his  delivery 
were  to  others  the  great  attraction.  He  possessed  a 
marvellous  voice,  deep  and  rich,  with  great  carrying 
power.  No  one  that  ever  heard  it  but  recalls  its  fas- 
cination. His  dark,  luminous  eyes,  too,  were  won- 
derfully expressive;  "living  sermons,"  some  one 
called  them.  It  is  in  the  delivery  that  the  success  of 
the  orator  consists,  as  Goethe  reminds  us.  In  the  case 
of  Starr  King  nature  had  to  a  rare  degree  endowed 
him  for  his  rhetorical  task. 

These  rhetorical  powers  were  strikingly  displayed 

[93] 


THOMAS  STARR  KING 

also  in  a  private  club  formed  for  the  reading  and 
study  of  Shakespeare.  The  plays  were  read,  book 
in  hand,  with  the  proper  dramatic  entrances  and 
exits.  Mr.  King,  Col.  Lippitt,  Mrs.  Hastings — 
a  sister  of  United  States  Senator  Charles  Sumner 
and  a  superb  reader,  and  Horace  Davis,  son  of  Gov- 
ernor John  Davis  of  Massachusetts,  a  man  of  varied 
culture  and  eminent  public  service,  who  later  mar- 
ried Mr.  King's  daughter  Edith,  were  among  the 
more  prominent  members  of  this  gifted  circle.  The 
writer  will  never  forget  the  impressive  recitals  of 
Macbeth,  Coriolanus,  King  Lear,  and  other  plays, 
rendered  by  this  talented  company  which  he  was  per- 
mitted to  attend. 

Mr.  King  at  once  identified  himself  with  the 
higher  interests  of  California  society.  From  the 
moment  he  stepped  upon  its  soil,  he  felt  himself  to 
be  a  citizen  of  the  Golden  State.  Looking  beyond 
the  pulpit  he  mingled  much  with  men,  touching  life 
at  all  points.  In  society  he  displayed  a  rare  tact 
and  charm,  meeting  his  fellow  beings  of  whatever 
condition  on  the  plane  of  their  everyday  feelings  and 
pursuits.  His  ready  sympathies  were  enlisted  in  be- 
half of  all  who  were  in  distress  or  need,  and  his  doors 
constantly  beset  with  applicants  for  his  counsel  and 
bounty,  to  whom  he  gave  himself  but  too  generously. 
For  years  he  kept  an  account  of  his  expenditures, 
setting  down  on  one  page  his  outlays  for  pleasure, 
recreation,  and  self-indulgence  of  every  sort,  and  on 
the  opposite  his  gifts  for  good  causes  and  charity. 

[94] 


THE  NEW  FIELD  IN  SAN  FRANCISCO 

The  balance,  we  may  be  sure,  was  always  kept  on  the 
side  of  altruism  and  humanity. 

The  struggling  philanthropies  of  San  Francisco, 
of  all  creeds  and  kinds,  soon  discovered  his  disinter- 
estedness and  readiness  to  become  an  eloquent  beggar 
in  their  behalf.  To  all  alike  he  gave  his  services 
cheerfully  and  lavishly,  for  he  was  as  opulent  in  bene- 
factions as  the  sun.  The  Seamen's  Bethel,  orphan 
asylums,  temperance  societies,  Masonic  Relief 
Boards,  child-saving  institutions,  mission  Sunday 
Schools,  land  especially  the  churches  of  the  colored 
people,  found  their  causes  efifectively  presented  and 
their  treasuries  enriched  by  his  appeals.  His  broad 
and  catholic  spirit  especially  fitted  him  for  such 
a  service,  for  while  he  knew  the  necessity  for,  and  the 
value  of  denominations,  he  looked  beyond  them  to 
the  great  universal  principles  of  religion  and  ethics, 
and  dwelt  with  preference  on  the  central  unities 
rather  than  the  incidental  diversities  of  Christian 
faith.  Almost  the  sole  representative  of  Liberal 
Christianity  in  that  new  community,  he  felt  it  in- 
cumbent upon  him  to  do  all  in  his  power  to  advance 
its  principles  and  interests.  Before  crowded  audi- 
ences in  his  church  he  gave  a  series  of  twelve  lec- 
tures, each  an  hour  or  more  in  length,  on  the  distinc- 
tive doctrines  of  the  liberal  faith  which  necessitated 
and  justified  its  separate  existence.  But  he  was  al- 
ways glad  to  recognize  the  good  in  other  creeds  and 
churches,  and  ever  sought  to  build  his  denominational 
fences  so  low  that  he  and  they  could  freely  shake 

[95] 


THOMAS  STARR  KING 

hands  across  them.  A  few  weeks  before  his  death 
he  had  arranged  for  the  occupancy  of  his  pulpit  on 
a  Sunday  by  Dr.  Cohn,  a  distinguished  Hebrew 
Rabbi. 

That  his  more  orthodox  neighbors  did  not  al- 
ways reciprocate  this  broad  churchmanship,  but 
sometimes  displayed  toward  him  a  narrow  and  big- 
oted temper  never  disturbed  the  charity  of  his  judg- 
ments or  the  generosity  of  his  deeds  towards  them. 

More  trying  to  his  sensitive  nature  were  the  unjust 
criticisms  made  upon  him  by  certain  members  of  his 
own  congregation  who,  instead  of  rejoicing  in  his 
larger  activities  in  the  community,  deprecated  the 
attention  he  gave  to  public  and  patriotic  causes,  and 
desired  him  to  confine  himself  more  to  their  per- 
sonal and  parish  interests.  On  one  occasion,  at  leasts 
Mr.  King  opened  his  heart  to  me  on  this  subject^ 
and  spoke  with  profound  sorrow  of  the  unreasonable- 
ness and  unkindness  of  these  advocates  of  a  parochial 
and  sectarian  policy  on  the  part  of  their  minister. 

Writing  to  Edward  Everett  Hale  he  confesses: 
"The  public  spirit  here  is  poor,  and  the  church  spirit 
narrower  than  in  any  community  I  ever  dealt  with. 
I  have  no  influence  within  the  citadel,  but  I  am 
bishop  of  the  unfortunate  expanse  without.  Meth- 
odism Unitarianized,  or  Unitarianism  Method- 
ized, is  just  the  combination  for  this  longitude. 
There  is  the  right  mingling  of  fire  and  cylinder,  steel 
and  steam." 

On  the  31st  of  January,   1861,  the  HoUis  Street 

[96] 


THE  NEW  FIELD  IN  SAN  FRANCISCO 

Church  in  Boston  observed  the  fiftieth  anniversary 
of  the  dedication  of  its  "meeting  house"  by  a  public 
gathering  at  which  addresses  were  made  by  Revs. 
Dr.  F.  H.  Hedge,  Dr.  Ezra  S.  Gannett,  John  Weiss, 
H.  M.  Dexter  and  other  clergymen.  Rev.  Edward 
Everett  Hale  was  particularly  happy  in  his  char- 
acterization of  the  various  pastors  who  had  served 
the  parish  in  days  gone  by,  closing  with  an  eloquent 
and  heartfelt  tribute  to  its  present  yet  absent  minister 
in  California,  Thomas  Starr  King.  He  especially 
deprecated  the  estimate  of  Mr.  King  as  an  orator 
rather  than  a  thinker,  and  as  a  poet  rather  than  for 
his  manly  and  robust  qualities.  "You  and  I  know 
that  here  is  a  mind  of  precise  balance,  which  weighs, 
accepts,  respects  and  judges,  though  with  great  rapid- 
ity, with  nearly  infallible  decision.  We  know  that 
here  is  a  spirit  utterly  catholic,  eager  to  do  justice 
to  all  opinions,  and  untiring  in  its  search  for  truth. 
We  know  that  here  is  a  heart  as  large  as  the  world, 
so  that  you  cannot  make  it  understand  that  it  should 
hold  back  from  any  service  to  be  rendered  to  any 
human  being.  But  twenty  years,  nay,  ten,  will  right 
all  this  mistaken  estimate." 

Starr  King  himself  wrote  an  admirable  letter  which 
was  read  at  the  meeting,  in  the  course  of  which  he 
said:  "God  means  that  sweeter  truth  shall  yet 
bloom  on  the  stock  of  the  older  denominations — 
partly  by  our  grafting,  partly  by  the  change  in  the 
temperature  of  the  general  religious  air.  They  have 
elements  and  energies  which  we  have  not,  and  possi- 

[97] 


THOMAS  STARR  KING 

biy  the  great  triumph  of  Liberal  Christianity  is  not 
to  come  from  the  uprooting  of  any  of  the  old  struc- 
tures, but  from  the  new  juices  infused  in  their  strong 
substance. 

"Yesterday,  the  31st  of  December,  I  looked  out  of 
the  window  on  the  north  side  of  my  house  in  San 
Francisco  and  saw  buds  opening  in  this  genial  climate 
on  the  flower  bushes  where  no  ray  of  sunshine  has 
fallen  these  two  months  past.  Liberal  Christianity 
is  part  of  the  Divine  movement  to  assuage  the  gen- 
eral climate  of  the  church.  Even  the  sects  on  the 
cold  north  side  are  bursting  into  bloom.  There  is 
need  for  us  yet,  as  a  distinctive  and  to  some  extent 
combative  party.  But  our  mission  is  to  hasten  the 
time  when  the  church  in  general  shall  modify  her 
creeds  and  grant  more  freedom  to  thought  and  or- 
ganize more  charity,  and  receive  again  into  fellow- 
ship the  needful  forces  which  her  narrowness  has 
spurned." 

The  catholicity  of  Mr.  King's  nature  is  so  ad- 
mirably displayed  in  a  discourse  on  Spiritual  Chris- 
tianity, delivered  by  him  as  the  closing  lecture  of  a 
series  by  eminent  clergymen  of  Boston  setting  forth 
the  creeds  'and  aims  of  their  respective  denomina- 
tions, that  I  cannot  refrain  from  quoting  passages 
from  it.  Dr.  John  W.  Buckham,  professor  of  Chris- 
tian Theology  at  the  Pacific  School  of  Religion,  in 
Berkeley,  California,  has  recently  declared  this  dis- 
course to  be  one  of  the  strongest  and  most  eloquent 
of  irenic  sermons,  and  as  timely  to-day  as  when  it 

[98] 


THE  NEW  FIELD  IN  SAN  FRANCISCO 

was  first  delivered.     It  also  furnishes  a  characteristic 
illustration  of  Starr  King  as  a  preacher. 

SPIRITUAL  CHRISTIANITY 

"The  vital  reception  of  Christianity  in  its  highest 
powder  is  shown  in  the  soul's  experience  of  the  near- 
ness and  friendship  of  the  Infinite  Spirit.  When  a 
man  comes  to  the  knowledge  that  God  is  not  far  off, 
but  nearer  to  his  soul  than  He  can  be  to  the  material 
world;  when  he  learns  that  He  is  not  hostile  but 
cordial,  that  His  frown  when  the  heart  is  alien  is  the 
highest  mercy  and  His  wrath  is  grace;  when  he  sees 
that  distance  from  this  Paternal  love  in  the  choice  of 
evil  is  slavery,  and  wretchedness,  and  spiritual  death, 
and,  with  a  faith  that  purifies  and  justifies  at  once, 
pledges  himself  to  the  divine  sanctity  and  compassion 
for  all  service  and  trust;  when  in  the  fulfilment  of 
that  great  vow  he  lives  in  a  deepening  reverence  for 
justice,  a  regard  for  truth  that  grows  ever  more  de- 
vout, a  sensitive  recoil  from  evil,  and  above  all  a  love 
that  pours  blessings  and  a  sweet  atmosphere  of  char- 
ity into  society;  when  still  further,  feeling  that  God 
by  His  indwelling  Spirit  is  the  substance  and  support 
of  his  dearest  life,  the  man  sees  the  whole  world 
illumined,  so  that  the  Eternal  shines  everywhere 
through  the  temporal,  and  nature  is  only  the  vesture 
or  language  of  Spirit,  and  nothing  is  so  certain  as 
God's  thought  and  providence  in  all  things ;  and  when 
such  sense  of  the  Infinite  and  such  vision  prompt  and 
nourish  humility  and  prayerfulness  in  the  heart,  and 
life  becomes  a  sacrifice  of  thanksgiving,  and  a  peace 
which  death  does  not  threaten  and  which  sorrow  can- 
not break  broods  in  the  sanctuaries  of  the  soul, — then 
there  is  an  echo  in  our  century  to  the  experience  of 

.  [99] 


THOMAS  STARR  KING 

Paul  who  found  the  supreme  privilege  and  bliss  of 
his  faith  in  Jesus  in  the  spring  which  it  stimulated 
him  to  make  from  the  earth  and  its  darkness,  and 
the  law  and  its  bondage,  into  the  light  and  the  arms  of 
Infinite  Grace. 

"There  are  very  few  who  reach  such  a  state  as  this. 
But  we  all  need  it  to  answer  the  end  of  our  being,  and 
to  satisfy  the  deepest  thirst  of  an  awakened  moral 
nature.  We  were  all  born  from  the  Eternal  life. 
And  we  receive  our  inheritance  only  when  we  begin 
consciously,  and  by  consecration,  to  draw  our  inner- 
most life  from  God.  We  feed  on  husks,  we  live  in 
shadows,  we  drink  from  no  undrainable  fountains, 
until  the  immortal  principle  is  so  far  stimulated  by 
the  Divine  quickening,  that  the  germ  and  promise 
of  such  an  experience  of  the  Infinite  life  and  accept- 
ance is  in  the  soul.  .  .  . 

NO  PARTICULAR  DOGMAS   ESSENTIAL 

*'Now,  when  we  see  that  Spiritual  Christianity  is 
manifest  in  a  life  of  freely  consecrated  service  to  the 
Almighty  Father,  whose  character  was  revealed 
through  Christ,  and  whose  Spirit  struggles  with  every 
soul,  we  must  see  that  the  quickening  power  of  it  is 
not  indissolubly  involved  with  any  of  the  dogmas  that 
divide  and  classify  Christendom. 

"We  have  a  right  to  say  now,  in  the  interest  of  vital 
Christianity,  that  all  theories  of  Christ's  rank  and 
office,  and  all  catechism  and  creeds,  are  indifferent 
to  the  Spirit,  so  far  as  they  belong  to  the  speculative 
science  of  the  Infinite,  or  to  the  philosophical  inter- 
pretation of  Scripture.  This  is  the  great  question: 
how  near  is  the  man  to  the  Spirit  of  God?  how  closely 
does  the  Christ  he  believes  in  bring  him  to  the  Infin- 
ite? how  richly  does  he  interpret  to  him  the  character 

[lOO] 


THE  NEW  FIELD  IN  SAN  FRANCISCO 

of  the  Almighty — his  equity,  his  providence,  his  in- 
terest in  righteousness,  his  love?  It  is  working  truth, 
truth  for  redemption,  truth  that  cleanses  the  passions, 
truth  that  burns  the  clouded  conscience,  truth  that 
wrenches  the  cowardly  will,  truth  that  knocks  at  the 
heart  with  sweet  and  serious  pleading,  in  which  the 
Spirit  hides.  A  notional  Trinity  or  a  notional  Unity 
it  cares  not  for,  any  more  than  it  cares  for  your  con- 
ception of  how  many  strata  are  in  the  surface  of  the 
globe,  or  how  the  sun's  light  is  connected  with  his 
substance. 

"I  do  not  argue  that  truth  of  creed  is  unimportant. 
I  do  not  say  that  a  symmetrical  and  pure  theology, 
an  adequate  intellectual  interpretation  of  the  office 
of  Christ  and  the  meaning  of  Christianity,  is  not  a 
most  desirable  thing.  But  I  say  that  unless  a  man 
values  and  uses  his  conception  of  Christ,  or  his  creed, 
as  a  medium  of  the  Spirit,  as  a  lens  to  condense  the 
radiance  of  the  everlasting  world  upon  his  soul,  a 
perfect  surface-believer  is  of  no  account.  Some 
creeds  have  truth  and  little  power;  others  have  power 
and  very  little  truth. 

NO  PARTICULAR  INSTITUTIONS  ESSENTIAL 

''And  now  it  is  time  to  ask  what  relation  Chris- 
tianity, considered  as  the  diffusive  agency  of  the  Di- 
vine Spirit,  bears  to  institutions.  Some  men  cannot 
disconnect — their  theory  will  not  allow  them  to  dis- 
connect— the  religion  of  Jesus  from  a  priestly  order 
of  men,  a  system  of  government,  rituals  in  churches, 
and  visible  lines  of  division  between  a  party  with 
Christian  badges  on  them,  and  the  unregenerate  mass 
of  the  world.  This  conception  is  wrought  out  in  full 
proportions  in  the  Catholic  theory  of  a  separate  spirit- 
ual polity  in  civilization. 

[lOl] 


THOMAS  STARR  KING 

'When  a  Catholic  talks  with  you  about  the  Church 
of  Christ  as  a  social  power,  he  means  nothing  more, 
and  he  cannot  conceive  how  anything  else  can  be 
meant  by  it,  than  the  miraculous  diffusion  of  Divine 
grace  through  Pope,  Bishops,  Decrees,  Clergy,  Sac- 
raments, to  those  people  who  believe  in  Pope,  and 
Clergy,  and  Sacraments,  and  who  go  to  them  regu- 
larly for  help  and  nutriment.  The  visible  organiza- 
tion of  the  Church  is,  to  the  devout  Catholic,  the  im- 
mense and  divine-built  battery  for  the  spiritual  elec- 
tricity of  Heaven.  And  no  one  can  receive  a  stream 
or  spark  of  it,  until  he  visibly  joins  hands  with  the 
faithful  around  the  Altar,  and  obtains  it  from  the 
magical  touch  of  the  Priest. 

"Most  of  the  Protestant  sects,  though  their  theories 
are  far  less  imposing  than  this  one  of  the  Roman  hier- 
archy, still  cling  to  the  idea— some  with  greater,  some 
with  less  fullness  of  proportion  in  their  schemes — that 
Christianity  has  some  material  channels  which  are 
divinely  instituted  (and  so  as  precious  as  the  religion 
itself)  through  which  its  saving  virtue  pours.  The 
Church  of  Christ  to  them  is  still,  in  some  sense,  a 
Corporation.  And  a  man  in  becoming  a  part  of  it 
must  pass  visibly,  by  some  act  or  profession  before 
men,  from  the  side  of  the  world  where  there  is  no 
grace,  to  the  ecclesiastical  side  where  help  is  ready 
for  him,  if  he  fulfills  the  conditions  on  which  it  is 
offered. 

"Over  these  conceptions  of  Christianity  must  be  set 
such  an  estimate  of  institutions  as  will  fit  the  fact  that 
the  Gospel  of  Christ  has  been  put  into  society  as  an 
all-penetrating  force  of  social  redemption.  See  how 
Jesus  always  interpreted  the  action  and  the  future  of 
the  regenerative  power  concentrated  in  Him,  through 

[102] 


THE  NEW  FIELD  IN  SAN  FRANCISCO 

imagery  drawn  from  the  most  free  and  diffusive  ener- 
gies in  nature.  That  Spirit  that  vivifies  the  world, 
moves  like  the  wind, — no  more  to  be  included  within 
the  boundaries  of  sect  and  sacrament,  than  the  wind 
can  be  encompassed  by  cathedrals  and  council-domes. 
Again,  the  forces  of  his  truth  are  seeds,  scattered  not 
over  a  few  ecclesiastical  acres,  but  over  the  field  of 
the  world,  to  be  nourished  by  the  unsectarian  light 
and  rain.  And  'the  kingdom  of  God  is  within  you,' 
so  that  the  power  of  it  in  the  world  is  exactly  equal 
to  the  truth,  and  the  sweetness,  and  the  aspiration, 
and  the  devotion  to  God  and  man,  that  hide  as  qual- 
ities in  human  bosoms,  and  stream  as  influence  from 
them  into  society.  Still  further,  'the  kingdom  of 
heaven  is  like  leaven  which  a  woman  took  and  hid  in 
three  measures  of  meal.'  It  works  not  from  an  or- 
ganized, visible,  and  aggressive  centre,  but  as  an  inter- 
penetrating, vivifying  force.  You  cannot  mechani- 
cally separate  the  vitality  from  the  dead  resistance. 
It  works  by  secret  agency  to  make  each  particle  alive, 
'and  a  new  germ  of  life. 

CHRISTIANITY  A  SOCIAL  FORCE 

"The  Christianity  of  the  Spirit,  therefore,  is  the 
sum  of  all  the  redeeming  life-forces  in  our  civiliza- 
tion. Nothing  less  than  all  the  arteries  of  society 
are  its  ducts.  Since  the  day  of  Pentecost  the  renovat- 
ing forces  of  history  are  its  vesture.  Just  as  the 
quickening  element  of  the  Gospel  is  not  dogma,  and 
will  not  be  imprisoned  in  dogma,  but  will  look 
through  it  and  stream  through  it  even  when  it  is  un- 
symmetrical  and  ungracious, — so  it  is  not  an  ecclesi- 
astical institution,  and  will  not  be  imprisoned  in  any 
or  all  of  them.     But  it  uses  them  all  for  its  purposes : 

[103] 


THOMAS  STARR  KING 

Mediaeval,  Episcopal,  Presbyterian,  Methodist,  Mo- 
ravian, Congregational,  Quaker,  and  countless  other 
agencies  besides. 

"For  social  worship  there  must  be,  of  course,  some 
special  rites,  and  order,  and  bonds;  and  those  in 
which  different  classes  of  believers  feel  most  free, 
and  find  most  joy,  are  best  for  them.  Yet  the  Spirit 
is  not  pledged  to  any  order  as  a  polity  for  Christen- 
dom. And  where  the  most  symmetrical  order  and 
liturgy  become  an  occasion  of  complacency,  and 
pride,  and  aristocratic  schism  of  the  heart  from  the 
community  of  believers,  the  polity  is  not  of  the  spirit 
at  all.  It  is  an  encroachment  of  'this  world,'  an  en- 
trenchment of  the  'natural  man'  within  the  area  that 
is  supposed  to  be  especially  consecrated  to  Christ. 
Apostolical  succession,  for  instance,  is  no  more  pos- 
sible as  a  law  for  the  church  than  an  equivalent 
theory  would  be  in  the  world  of  art.  Think  of  try- 
ing to  institute  in  such  a  way,  the  right  and  the  gift 
of  teaching  beauty!  Think  of  a  hierarchical  preten- 
sion in  the  artistic  world,  claiming  that  only  the  stu- 
dents upon  whom  Raffaelle,  or  Michael  Angelo,  or 
M'urillo,  or  Rubens,  or  Reynolds,  or  West,  or  Turner, 
or  Allston,  had  laid  his  hands,  were  rightfully  con- 
secrated and  equipped  to  paint,  and  to  educate  the 
taste  of  men !  By  all  means  have  studies,  and  studios, 
and  thorough  intercourse  with  the  masterpieces  of 
ages.  But  leave  room  for  genius, — its  freedom,  its 
new  methods,  and  its  fire.  And  do  not  try  to  con- 
duct the  potent  and  volatile  essence  of  inspiration, 
which  flows  only  from  the  laying  on  of  God's  hand, 
along  the  fixed  methods  of  any  confederation. 

"The  Spirit  broods  over  society  to  vitalize  it,  and 
not  exclusively  over  the  Church.  The  Spirit  has  not 
shown  itself  partial  to  any  organization  of  ecclesiasti- 

[104] 


THE  NEW  FIELD  IN  SAN  FRANCISCO 

cal  order.     It  leaves  the  old  Catholic  corporation,  to 
stimulate  the  world  through  Luther  and  the  Reform- 
ers.    And   it  is  just  as   ready  to   break  out   again 
through  the  Catholic  forms,  and  retreat  from  Protes- 
tant ones,  when  any  branch  of  the  elder  Church  puts 
itself  in  the  condition  to  invite  its  grace,  and  the  new 
Church  prefers  to  live  on  memory,  and  begins  to  be 
proud,  formal,  and  cruel.     It  delights  to  pour  itself 
through  preaching  and  the  Sunday,  just  to  the  extent 
that  the  preacher  has  a  receptive  soul,  and  the  people 
have  hearing  hearts.     It  streams  through  the  holiest 
sacrament,  and  most  freely  when  those  that  commune 
ofifer  life  as  a  service  of  thanksgiving  and  sacrifice  to 
the  Infinite  love  in  the  spirit  of  Christ,  and  ask  for 
more  of  its  breath.     But  we  must  not  forget  that  it 
leaps  out  of  a  church  as  freely  as  into  it.     It  makes 
a  good  book  its  channel  rather  than  a  proud  bishop, 
though  the  book  be  written  by  an  unprofessing  lay- 
man.    It  discharges  immeasurably  more  of  its  essence 
through  such  a  novel  as  'Little  Dorrit'  than  through 
such  volumes  as  Dr.  Breckinridge's  'Knowledge  of 
God  Objectively  Considered.'     It  no  more  acknowl- 
edges a  religious  newspaper  as  its  organ  than  a  secular 
one,  if  it  is  not  humbly  edited,  and  does  not  increase 
the  sway  of  meekness  and  charity  in  those  that  read  it, 
— a  very  severe  test  for  many  of  them.     It  moves 
through  all  the  efforts,  all  the  eloquence,  all  the  liter- 
ature, all  the  homes,  all  the  charity  organizations,  all 
the  laws,  all  the  public  bounties,  that  are  interpreting 
sweet  and  serious  truth,  nourishing  goodness,  spread- 
ing the  sway  of  the  spirit  of  sacrifice,  banishing  in- 
justice, making  the  world  less  selfish,  and  more  pious. 
For  these  are  hastening  the  true  Millennium,  when 
all  law,  all  government,  all  literature,  all  life  shall 
be  pure  and  reverent  and  charitable;  and  when  so- 

[105] 


THOMAS  STARR  KING 

ciety  shall  be  organized  by  Christ's  spirit,  and  be- 
come the  Church,  and  thus  the  whole  lump  be 
leavened. 

ALL  THE  SECTS  USEFUL 

"Here,  therefore,  we  have  something  to  say  upon 
the  development  of  the  life  and  thought  of  Christen- 
dom and  the  meaning  and  usefulness  of  sects.  The 
Church  was  left  unhampered  by  creeds  from  the  pen 
of  Jesus,  or  of  Apostles,  to  work  out  its  science  of 
theology  freely, — as  all  science  is  worked  out  through 
error,  through  cumulative  effort,  and  through  failure, 
— and  to  add  to  the  riches  of  its  vital  literature  by  a 
manifold  and  ever  multiplying  experience.  We  are 
in  the  era  of  the  Spirit,  and  the  Church  is  to-day 
under  the  pressure  and  guidance  of  the  Holy  Ghost. 

"Christendom  is  young.  Look  forward  a  hundred 
centuries,  and  see  if  you  can  imagine  that  the  intellect 
of  the  Church  will  then  be  tethered  to  the  meta- 
physics of  religion  shaped  before  modern  science  and 
philosophy  and  poetry  were  born.  We  cannot  tell 
yet  what  the  theology  of  Christendom  is  to  be.  The 
sects  that  have  arisen  thus  far  have  each  helped, 
through  their  differences,  to  accumulate  evidence,  by 
appearing  as  witnesses  or  counsel  in  the  court  of  his- 
tory for  some  oppressed  or  slighted  truth. 

"But  the  sects  have  done  a  greater  service  by  show- 
ing us,  with  more  and  more  varied  and  copious  illus- 
tration, how  deep  and  rich,  how  sweet  and  sublime, 
is  Spiritual  Christianity  itself,  when  it  issues  in  its  ap- 
propriate literature  of  sentiment  and  life.  Lord 
Bacon  spoke  of  the  ample  and  graceful  classic  myth- 
ology as  the  airs  of  earlier  ages  breathed  into  the 
trumpets  and  pipes  of  the  Grecians.  So  Christianity, 
of  which  the  Spirit  struck  the  key-notes  in  the  souls 

[io6] 


THE  NEW  FIELD  IN  SAN  FRANCISCO 

of  Apostles  in  Palestine,  has  been  widening  in  varia- 
tion and  deepening  in  harmony  with  all  the  con- 
secrated temperaments  that  have  risen  in  the  ages  thus 
far  to  articulate  its  airs.  We  must  pierce  below  the 
•creed-symbols  of  each  party  in  Christian  history,  and 
find  the  justification  and  necessity  of  its  existence  in 
the  fresh  quality  of  its  sentiment,  or  the  new  move- 
ment or  modulation  by  which  it  has  enriched  the  com- 
pass of  the  symphony  of  grace. 

CHRISTIAN  LITERATURE 

''Think  of  the  range  of  the  literature  of  Christian 
devotedness  and  insight.  It  runs  from  the  'Shepherd 
of  Hermas'  and  the  prayers  of  the  earliest  liturgies, 
touching  dififerent  keys  in  different  centuries  and 
sects,  till  it  includes  now  Augustine's  'Communion 
with  God,'  a  Kempis'  'Imitation  of  Christ,'  Tauler's 
'Sermons,'  the  'Meditations  of  Archbishop  Leighton 
and  Bishop  Hall,'  Fenelon's  'Letters,'  Taylor's  'Holy 
Living  and  Dying,'  Baxter's  'Saints'  Rest,'  Sweden- 
borg's  'Divine  Love  and  Wisdom,'  Edwards'  'Sweet 
Thoughts  of  Christ,'  Wesleyan  'hymns,'  Martineau's 
'Endeavours  after  the  Christian  Life,'  Theodore  Par- 
ker's 'Ten  Sermons,'  and  Newman  on  the  'Soul.' 
That  belongs  to  essential  Christianity,  Spiritual 
Christianity,  which  issues  in  the  quickening  power  of 
these  books,  and  gleams  out  in  the  life  of  all  conse- 
crated men,  whether  they  be  men  of  action,  of  suffer- 
ing, or  of  prayer.  All  are  necessary  to  enable  us  to 
appreciate  Christianity.  For  it  is  continually  un- 
folding itself  in  history.  And  the  Spirit  needs  every 
aperture  of  race,  and  temperament,  and  culture,  to 
work  out  fully  the  mighty  theme  whose  notes  are 
printed  in  the  first  Scriptures  of  the  Church. 

[107] 


THOMAS  STARR  KING 

THE  UNITY  OF  THE  SPIRIT 

''And  now,  if  I  may  gather  up  all  that  I  have  been 
trying  to  say  in  a  statement,  let  me  say  that  only  those 
elements  of  the  faith  and  life  of  every  church  that  can 
pass  up  into  anthems,  chants,  and  hymns,  as  an  offer- 
ing to  the  Infinite, — only  those  sentiments  which  can 
be  set  to  music, — are  its  worthy  and  enduring  ele- 
ments.    You  cannot  put  proofs  of  the  Trinity,  or  con- 
troversial supports  of  the  Unity  of  God, — the  logic  of 
Bishop  Bull,  or  the  arguments  of  Professor  Norton, — 
into  hymns.     You  cannot  put  the  difference  between 
a  feeling  of  the  depravity  of  nature,  and  of  the  de- 
pravity of  conduct  and  life,  into  a  Psalm.     When 
three  souls  feel  equally  the  riches  of  Infinite  love, 
though  one  receives  it  through  a  Trinitarian,  another 
through  an  Arian,  another  through  a  Humanitarian 
dogma,  you  could  not  put  their  disputes  about  the 
size  of  the  window  through  which  they  obtain  their 
light  into  a  chorus.     You  cannot  chant  rubrics,  and 
the  hostilities  of  catechisms,  and  thirty-nine  Articles, 
and  Canons  of  the  Council  of  Trent,  and  damnatory 
clauses  of  the  Athanasian  creed. 

"But  reverence  for  God,  devout  prostration  before 
the  law  which  'the  Father'  represents;  penitent  love 
answering  to  the  pity  and  sacrifice  which  'the  Son' 
interprets,  and  devotion  to  humanity  out  of  such  con- 
secration; joy  in  the  ever-present  grace,  and  prayer 
for  the  quickening  life  which  'the  Spirit'  symbolizes; 
adoration  of  Infinite  holiness,  submission  to  Infinite 
sovereignty,  grateful  trust  in  Infinite  compassion, — 
sentiments  in  which,  when  developed  free,  Trini- 
tarian and  Unitarian,  Calvinist  and  Arminian,  Par- 
tialist  and  Universalist,  come  at  once  into  fellowship, 
— these  fly  to  music  for  expression. 

[io8] 


THE  NEW  FIELD  IN  SAN  FRANCISCO 

"We  shall  drop  our  contentions  about  Trinity  and 
Unity,  about  free  will  and  constraining  election, 
when  we  reach  heaven.  We  may  not  understand, 
even  to  eternity,  the  constitution  of  the  Infinite  per- 
sonality; but  alienations  on  account  of  mental  meas- 
urings  of  substantial  truth  will  not  obtain  there. 
There  will  be  no  reverend  Angels  to  preach  on  such 
themes  as,  Why  am  I  a  Calvinist,  a  Baptist,  or  an 
Episcopalian?  But  no  doubt  we  shall  still  be  ranged 
there,  as  here,  by  the  sentiments  to  which  we  most 
naturally  give  utterance.  And  we  shall  see  there, 
doubtless,  what  need  there  is  of  the  utmost  power  of 
every  party  to  celebrate  the  circle  of  the  Divine 
glory;  how  deep  is  the  justice,  how  broad  the  provi- 
dence, how  high  the  love,  that  must  be  acknowledged 
in  the  twined  harmony  of  heavenly  hosannas. 

"Let  us  pray  that  we  may  yield  our  mind  and  will 
to  the  Spirit;  that  by  its  light  we  may  see  through 
our  creeds  into  the  all-important  verities  of  the  sub- 
stantial world;  that  we  may  be  in  life  and  worship 
instruments  of  Christian  music,  more  than  soldiers 
of  Calvinistic  or  Unitarian  camps;  and  that  we  may 
be  lifted,  at  last,  by  the  Spirit  to  that  world  where  we 
shall  experience  the  truth  that,  'whether  there  be 
prophecies,  they  shall  fail ;  whether  there  be  tongues, 
they  shall  cease;  whether  there  be  knowledge,  it  shall 
vanish  away'  before  the  charity  that  'never  faileth,* 
which  gives  the  'unity  of  the  Spirit,'  and  is  'the  ful- 
filling of  the  law.'  " 


[109] 


CHAPTER  VI 

LECTURING  ON  THE  PACIFIC  COAST 

ONE  object  of  Mr.  King's  settlement  in  Cali- 
fornia was,  as  we  have  seen,  to  escape  the 
drudgery  of  public  lecturing.  But  circum- 
stances were  against  him  and  he  found  himself  unable 
to  refuse  the  invitations  which  soon  poured  in  upon 
him  from  all  parts  of  the  State.  Indeed,  the  very- 
week  of  his  arrival  he  gave  the  first  of  a  course  be- 
fore the  Mercantile  Library  Association  in  San  Fran- 
cisco, consisting  of  lectures  he  had  delivered  at  the 
East.  In  a  letter  to  a  friend  he  humorously  refers 
to  the  opening  one:  "Last  evening  I  commenced 
the  course  with  'Substance  and  Show,'  and  drew  a 
glorious  picture  at  the  close  (colored  with  the  lec- 
turer's genius!)  of  San  Francisco  stretched  out  on  its 
desolate  hills  rubbing  the  dust  out  of  its  eyes  and 
washing  the  fleas  off  its  feet  in  the  great  Pacific 
basin."  Delivered  in  the  First  Congregational 
Church,  there  was  a  great  audience,  and  the  money 
receipts  were  unprecedented.  For  the  most  part  he 
used  his  existing  literary  material,  but  he  wrote  four 
or  five  new  lectures.  One  of  these  on  "Books  and 
Reading,"  written  in  two  days,  was  an  especial  favor- 
ite, and  became  a  literary  inspiration  to  his  hearers. 
Another  address  on  "The  Earth  and  the  Mechanic 

[no] 


LECTURING  ON  THE  PACIFIC  COAST 

Arts"  was  an  eloquent  tribute  to  the  dignity  and  im- 
portance of  labor,  which  must  have  thrilled  every 
mechanic  that  heard  it. 

Called  upon  to  make  an  address  at  an  Agricultural 
Fair  in  Stockton  he  acquitted  himself  admirably. 
On  his  return  to  the  city  he  was  rallied  by  friends 
on  his  audacity  in  handling  such  a  theme,  and  asked 
what  in  the  world  he  knew  about  farming.  "Abso- 
lutely nothing!"  he  confessed.  "Why,  my  people  tell 
me  I  cannot  even  distinguish  the  goats  from  the  sheep 
in  my  own  congregation." 

These  new  lectures  were  of  a  very  different  order 
from  those  he  had  delivered  at  the  East.  As  a  writer 
in  the  San  Francisco  Evening  Bulletin  tells  us: 
"He  polished  his  sentences  less;  he  waited  no  longer 
on  fine  fancies,  he  dropped  down  to  good  plain  talk 
for  minutes  together  in  his  addresses;  and  then,  when 
his  hearers  were  rested,  he  blazed  out  with  passages 
that  swept  away  all  thought  but  of  the  one  subject 
that  possessed  him."  Invitations  to  lecture  poured 
in  upon  him,  and  soon  he  was  busy  again  in  his  old 
field  of  labor,  visiting  not  only  the  interior  of  the 
State  but  Oregon  and  Nevada  as  well.  Everywhere 
he  met  with  an  appreciative  hearing  and  became  im- 
mensely popular,  not  only  as  a  public  speaker  but 
for  his  fine  personal  qualities. 

Curious  and  amusing  were  some  of  his  experiences. 
He  told  with  boyish  glee  of  an  enthusiastic  woman 
who  greeted  him  at  the  close  of  a  lecture:  "I'm 
so  glad  you  talkative  men  are  coming  round  again. 

[Ill] 


THOMAS  STARR  KING 

For  myself,  I  have  such  a  thirst  for  intellectooal 
people  that  I  could  just  set  and  listen  to  lectures 
from  now  till  the  Fourth  of  July!"  On  another  oc- 
casion he  was  invited  to  lecture  before  a  literary  so- 
ciety in  a  California  mining  community.  Arriving 
early  he  strolled  about  the  town,  and  presently  came 
upon  two  red-shirted,  big-booted  miners  who  were 
studying  a  bill-board  which  announced  that  T.  Starr 
King,  of  San  Francisco,  would  lecture  that  evening 
on  "Socrates  and  His  Age."  ''Bill,"  said  one  of  them 
disgustedly  to  his  mate,  "who  was  So-crates,  and 
who  the  cares  how  old  he  was?" 

One  consequence  of  these  lecturing  tours  was  that 
he  gained  a  large  knowledge  of  the  Pacific  Coast,  its 
scenery,  resources  and  society. 

Here  Starr  King  was  in  his  element.  Undismayed 
by  the  hardships  of  travel  in  those  early  days,  dis- 
regardful  of  discomfort  and  weariness,  he  availed 
himself  of  every  opportunity  to  explore  the  marvels 
and  witness  the  sublimities  of  the  California  moun- 
tains. He  revelled  in  the  sight  of  the  imposing, 
snow-clad  ranges  of  the  Sierras,  their  gigantic 
chasms,  foaming  rivers,  leaping  waterfalls  and 
crystal  lakes;  their  virgin  forests  and  vegetable  won- 
ders; the  vast  stretches  of  fertile  prairie  at  their  feet, 
waving  with  billowy  grain,  or  prodigal  with  teeming 
orchards. 

In  the  summer  of  i860  Starr  King  visited  Yosemite 
and  the  Big  Trees,  and  his  letters  to  the  East  were 
full  of  the  joy  of  this  new  experience.     This  delight 

[112] 


LECTURING  ON  THE  PACIFIC  COAST 

also  found  expression  in  two  eloquent  sermons 
preached  to  his  congregation  on  his  return  to  San 
Francisco,  and  later  included  in  the  volume  of  his 
printed  discourses/  "Lessons  from  the  Sierra 
Nevada,"  and  "Living  Water  from  Lake  Tahoe." 
The  following  summer  he  extended  his  journey,  punc- 
tuated with  lectures,  to  Oregon,  Washington,  and 
British  Columbia,  and  as  far  north  as  Nootka  Sound. 
In  a  series  of  brilliant  letters  to  the  Boston  Evening 
Transcript  Starr  King  pictured  the  splendors  of  the 
Sierras,  the  Yosemite  and  the  Big  Trees,  thus  im- 
parting to  dwellers  on  the  Atlantic  seaboard  their 
first  adequate  impression  of  the  scenic  wonders  of  the 
Pacific  Coast,  and  becoming  the  forerunner  of  the 
gifted  company  of  nature-writers  and  poets  who  have 
since  eloquently  described  them.  It  was  the  inten- 
tion of  Mr.  King  to  write  some  day  a  work  on  the 
Sierras  which  might  be  a  companion  volume  to  his 
book  on  the  White  Hills  of  New  Hampshire,  and  he 
tentatively  conferred  with  his  Boston  publishers  on 
the  matter. 

Letters  to  Eastern  friends  communicate  to  them  his 
first  impressions  of  Nature's  wonders  on  the  Pacific 
Coast. 

"Mariposa  County, 
"Among  the  California  Big  Trees. 

"July  14,  i860. 
"To  Rev.  William  R.  Alger: 

"At  your  delightful  home  in  Swampscott  last  Sep- 

1  "Christianity  and  Humanity,"  Boston,  1877. 

[113] 


THOMAS  STARR  KING 

tember  we  talked  California,  I  am  living  it.  Three 
days  ago  in  San  Francisco  I  received  your  genial, 
generous  and  welcome  letter  from  the  beach.  And 
it  just  occurs  to  me  that  you  will  not  object  to  a  hur- 
ried answer  on  poor  paper, — a  mere  'pencilling  by 
the  way' — written  in  the  most  romantic  part  of  Cali- 
fornia,— among  the  Sierras,  amidst  the  Big  Trees  of 
Mariposa,  and  at  the  foot  of  the  Monarch  of  the 
Grove. 

'Tt  is  Saturday  evening,  5%  p.  M.  (8>4  P.  M.  with 
you)  and  the  delicious  afternoon  light  is  pouring 
down  the  snufif-colored  back  of  the  Titan  over  my 
head,  who  is  as  old  at  least  as  Christianity.  I  have 
just  put  a  measuring  line  around  him.  His  girth  is 
ninety  feet.  There  is  another,  half-decayed — all  the 
bark  having  moulded,  who  is  100  feet  and  over  in  cir- 
cuit. But  the  one  at  whose  root  I  am  scratching 
these  words,  is  vigorous,  and  sends  out  green  shoots 
a  hundred  feet  up  which  are  flashing  in  the  evening 
splendor.  There  are  nearly  three  hundred  of  the 
same  species  in  the  grove,  measuring  from  forty  to 
ninety  feet  in  circumference.  The  bark  is  about 
twenty  inches  thick  and  very  soft  and  delicate  in 
texture.  Its  hue  is  one  of  the  chief  fascinations  of 
the  grove.  The  voices  of  the  party — seven  men — 
with  me,  sound  strangely,  hallowing  in  the  distance, 
in  this  natural  temple  in  which  man  is  a  mite. 
Above  their  noise  swells  the  musical  melancholy  of 
these  old  conservatives,  wakened  by  winds  that 
sweep  from  the  snow-capped  granite  of  the  Sierras 
which  we  see  across  a  mighty  gorge,  by  a  walk  of 
but  a  few  rods  distance.  I  can  scarcely  credit  my 
senses  that  I  am  here,  and  that  it  will  require  four 
weeks  for  this  to  reach  you.  I  hope  it  will  assure 
you  that  old  friends  are  not  forgotten.     I  do  not  look 

["4] 


LECTURING  ON  THE  PACIFIC  COAST 

upon  any  strange  and  impressive  scene  without  think- 
ing of  you  and  Hedge  and  Whipple,  with  gratitude 
that  I  have  known  you,  and  greater  gratitude  that  I 
can  love  you  without  being  forgotten. 

"The  Guide,  who  looks  like  Henry  Ward  Beecher, 
and  would  serve  as  his  double,  asks:  'Gettin'  putty 
well  through,  mister?'  I  say,  *Yes,'  so  I  must  stop. 
To-morrow  I  go  to  the  Yosemite  Notch  and  Falls, 
the  great  wonder  of  the  State. 

'T.  S. 

"Sunday  evening:  In  the  Yosemite  pass,  under 
rocks  five  thousand  feet  sheer!  El  Gebor!!  Great 
is  matter  and  the  force  of  cohesion!  I  close  this  note 
in  sight  of  a  river  which  pitches  i  i;oo  feet  at  one  leap, 
and  then  takes  two  more,  one  400  and  the  other  500, 
and  the  roar! — " 

In  the  following  summer  he  writes  to  his  parish- 
ioner and  friend,  R.  B.  Swain: 

"Yreka,  May  29,  1861. 
"Here  I  am,  perched  on  the  top  of  the  State.  The 
journey  has  been  quite  fatiguing.  From  Shasta  to 
Yreka  we  were  twenty-seven  hours  on  the  road,  and  I 
had  an  outside  seat  on  the  stage  day  and  night,  with- 
out a  shawl.  But  I  am  all  right,  and  my  brain  has 
settled  down  again,  right  side  up,  I  believe.  From 
Shasta  town  I  caught  the  first  view  of  Shasta  Butte; 
it  was  just  after  sunrise  and  the  view  was  glorious 
indeed.  I  preached  after  the  vision  for  a  Methodist 
minister,  and  ought  to  have  preached  well,  but  am 
afraid  I  didn't.  Yesterday  I  devoted  to  the  study  of 
Mt.  Shasta.  I  had  it  in  view  for  ten  hours.  It  is 
glorious  beyond  expression.     It  far  exceeds  my  con- 

[I'S] 


THOMAS  STARR  KING 

ception  of  its  probable  grandeur.  I  am  glad  I 
named  my  book  The  White  Hills.  To-day  is  very 
cloudy  and  the  mountain  is  shrouded  to  the  base. 
The  whole  region  is  sublime." 

The  following  summers  he  was  permitted  to  be- 
hold the  scenic  splendors  of  Oregon,  Washington, 
and  the  lordly  Columbia  River.  En  route  he  writes 
his  friend,  R.  B.  Swain: 

"Yreka,  July  21,  1862. 
"It  is  quite  hot  here  to-day,  but  as  it  is  not  100  de- 
grees nobody  calls  it  hot.  Anywhere  in  the  nineties, 
even  99,  is  moderate.  We  rode  all  night  of  Saturday 
through  from  Shasta  here,  making  the  trip  in  28 
hours.  The  journey  from  here  will  be  terribly  hard, 
and  I  almost  regret  that  I  made  the  overland  trail. 
From  Jacksonville,  where  my  wife  and  I  go  to-mor- 
row, to  Salem  (Oregon)  will  be  as  tough  as  it  can  be 
— it  will  take  three  or  four  days.  I  doubt  if  I  have 
time  to  see  all  I  wish  of  Oregon  and  Puget  Sound. 
It  will  take  me  another  week  to  reach  Portland,  and 
I  begin  to  fear  I  shall  have  to  abandon  the  whole 
Puget  Sound  and  Victoria  expedition.  The  expenses 
are  simply  frightful.  It  costs  me  over  $80  for  pas- 
sage from  Marysville  to  Shasta  town,  and  if  I  travel 
through  part  of  Oregon  by  extras,  as  I  must,  $60  a 
day  will  be  the  lowest  I  can  do  it  for,  and  I  have  pur- 
chased through  tickets  besides." 

Every  available  interval  of  the  journey  was  punc- 
tuated with  letters  to  distant  friends,  that  they  might 
share  in  his  delight. 

[116] 


LECTURING  ON  THE  PACIFIC  COAST 

To  Randolph  Ryer: 

"Portland,  Oregon,  August  7,  1862. 

"You  see  where  I  am.  And  Julia  is  also  here. 
On  Monday,  July  14th,  we  took  it  into  our  heads  that 
we  would  visit  Oregon,  Washington  Territory,  the 
British  possessions,  Puget  Sound,  and  all  sorts  of 
places  where  hardship  was  to  be  experienced  and 
good  scenery  to  be  found.  So  we  started  on  an  over- 
land trip  through  Northern  California,  all  the 
length  of  Oregon  to  the  northern  boundaries  of 
Washington  Territory  and  Victoria,  the  British  city 
on  Vancouver  island.  By  the  way  we  travel  Victoria 
is  about  one  thousand  miles  from  San  Francisco. 

"Julia  has  borne  the  tremendous  stretch  of  stage- 
riding  wonderfully  well.  And  what  scenery  we 
have  had!  Mt.  Shasta  we  have  enjoyed  on  all  sides 
of  his  mighty  bulk  and  superb  form.  He  is  almost 
15,000  feet  high,  and  rises  from  a  plain,  draped  in 
eternal  snow.  The  mountains  of  Oregon  we  have 
passed  through  and  had  views  of  the  wonderful  line 
of  peaks — Jefferson,  the  Three  Sisters,  Hood,  Adams, 
St.  Helens,  and  Rainier.  And  the  Columbia  River! 
It  is  worth  a  journey  from  New  York  to  sail  up  its 
lordly  tide  and  see  the  stupendous  snow  cones  from 
its  glorious  level.  We  made  a  trip  this  week  more 
than  a  hundred  miles  up  the  Columbia  to  the  Dalles, 
where  the  whole  river  pours  through  a  channel  200 
feet  wide.  On  the  way  what  views  of  Hood  and  St. 
Helens!  At  the  Dalles  we  saw  old  Hood  at  sunset, 
not  more  than  twenty-five  miles  distant  by  air-line. 
He  towers  14,500  feet  from  his  base,  which  is  much 
higher  than  Mt.  Blanc  from  its  base.  Across  the 
Columbia,  in  Washington  Territory,  Mt.  Adams,  but 
little  farther  off,  towers  nearly  14,000  feet,  built  up 
with  more  rugged  masonry  than  Hood. 


THOMAS  STARR  KING 

"Going  down  the  Columbia  we  passed  at  one  time 
within  fifteen  miles  air  line  of  Hood,  and  had  the 
clearest  view  possible  of  his  tremendous  bulk  and 
noble  peak  and  blazing  snow. 

**But  what  a  view  of  him  still  nearer  to  Portland, 
not  far  from  Fort  Vancouver!  There  he  sits  on  a 
throne,  above  ridge  after  ridge  of  the  wilderness, 
every  particle  of  his  height  visible,  and  three-quarters 
of  it  covered  with  snow,  which  droops  in  exquisite 
fringes  into  the  lower  ravines.  And  you  see  him  over 
a  vast  broad  reach  of  the  river  itself!  I  do  not  be- 
lieve the  world  can  surpass  this  spectacle. 

"I  have  lectured  in  Portland  to  a  large  audience 
on  the  War,  and  again  on  a  rare  subject:  'Substance 
and  Show.'  I  shall  preach  here  Sunday  the  first 
Unitarian  sermon  in  these  wilds.  Next  week  for 
Puget  Sound — then  to  Victoria — then  home." 

To  Rev.  Dr.  Henry  W .  Bellows  of  New  York: 

"San  Francisco,  August  20,  1862. 

''My  dear  Bellows, 

"I  have  just  returned  from  a  visit  of  five  weeks  to 
the  great  country  north  of  us,  having  taken  my  wife 
under  my  arm  and  staged  it  overland  through  upper 
California — by  the  base  of  superb  Mt.  Shasta,  up  all 
Oregon,  seeing  majestic  and  magnificent  Mt.  Hood  in 
all  lights  and  framings, — beyond  the  Cascade  Moun- 
tains on  the  Columbia  river — across  to  Washington 
Territory  and  through  the  exquisite  tangles  of  Puget 
Sound  to  Victoria — and  thence  down  by  sea  to  our 
metropolis  again.  By  land  thirteen  hundred  miles, 
by  sea  eight  hundred.  I  have  lectured  a  good  deal, 
by  urgent  entreaty.  I  have  preached  the  Liberal 
Christian  word  for  the  first  time  in  Oregon  and 
Washington,  and  drove  the  stake  for  a  log  custom- 

[1.8] 


LECTURING  ON  THE  PACIFIC  COAST 

house,  with  a  speech,  on  the  northernmost  limit  of 
the  United  States  on  the  Straits  of  Fuca,  near  Cape 
Flattery.  It  was  a  glorious  journey  to  both  of  us, 
and  we  return  with  new  strength  to  bear  the  terrible 
strain  of  the  military  and  public  crisis  in  Virginia. 
''What  a  proud  domain  is  ours!  The  wilderness 
of  which  Bryant  sung  in  his  youth,  the  lovely  streams 
and  savage  peaks  which  Irving's  'Astoria'  illumined 
with  the  soft  afternoon  light  of  his  genius,  appropri- 
ate to  the  far  West,  are  now  swarming  with  thou- 
sands of  gold-seekers  and  finders.  Flathead  Indians 
buy  hats  to  fit  their  steep-pitched  skulls  from  Genin's 
of  New  York,  Blackfeet  buy  boots  in  forest  shops 
from  Lynn;  a  noble  wagon-road  across  the  Rocky 
Mountains  connects  the  sources  of  the  Columbia  with 
navigable  waters  of  the  Missouri;  and  merchants  of 
St.  Louis  compete  with  those  of  Portland,  Oregon, 
in  supplying  the  miners  of  our  new  Salmon  river  gold 
fields.  The  tide  is  setting  eastward  again  under  the 
Stars  and  Stripes,  and  the  desolate  passes  of  the 
Northern  Rocky  Mountains  are  feeling  the  shuttles 
of  civilization  fly  with  alternate  beats  from  the 
Pacific  Coast  and  the  Mississippi." 


[119] 


CHAPTER  VII 

A   EULOGIST  OF  CALIFORNIA  SCENERY 

THE  Pacific  Coast  regions  which  Mr.  King 
visited  in  those  early  days — only  twelve  years 
after  the  discovery  of  gold  in  California — 
have  now  been  made  accessible  to  hosts  of  sight- 
seers who  annually  visit  them  for  health  or  pleasure. 
Their  scenic  wonders  have  been  portrayed — often 
with  great  fidelity  and  beauty — by  innumerable  writ- 
ers and  artists.  Yet  the  freshness  and  felicity  with 
which  this  pioneer  artist  in  words  described  the  scen- 
ery of  the  "land  of  sunshine  and  of  gold,"  and  his 
power  of  communicating  to  others  the  impression  it 
made  on  his  sensitive  nature,  would  seem  to  justify  a 
selection  from  the  score  or  more  letters  which  Starr 
King  found  time  to  write  the  Boston  Evening  Tran- 
script amidst  all  his  absorbing  labors  for  country  and 
humanity. 

Thus  in  the  summer  of  i860  Mr.  King  described 
the  wondrous  beauty  of  spring-time  in  the  San  Ma- 
teo, Sonoma  and  Santa  Clara  valleys.  He  wrote  of 
their  marvellous  wealth  of  wild  flowers,  of  the  vast 
fields  of  poppies  waving  on  their  slender  stems  like 
the  billows  of  an  inland  sea,  of  the  vines  of  roses, 
geranium,  heliotrope  and   fuchsia  climbing  to   the 

[120] 


A  EULOGIST  OF  CALIFORNIA  SCENERY 

house-tops  and  embowering  them  with  beauty  and 
fragrance.  The  trees  were  of  a  different  order  than 
those  at  the  East.  Sturdy  live  oaks,  sycamores,  the 
locust,  yew,  camphor,  magnolia,  palmetto,  myrtle, 
acacia  in  twelve  varieties,  pepper  tree  and  many  va- 
rieties of  eucalyptus  predominated.  Above  all,  the 
blossoming  orchards  radiant  with  color  and  charm 
— almonds,  apples,  pears,  cherries,  oranges,  apricots, 
peaches,  plums  and  prunes — delighted  his  eyes.  He 
dwells  on  the  luxurious  yield  of  berries  and  nuts. 
He  tells  of  a  golden  russet  apple  tree,  one  year  from 
the  bud,  with  the  girth  of  one's  fore-finger  and  three 
feet  high,  with  two  dozen  apples  upon  it.  He  dilates 
on  the  giant  spread  of  grape-vines  with  their  clusters 
of  purple  and  golden  fruit,  and  the  ripening  treasure 
of  the  grainfields,  more  precious  even  than  that  of 
the  mines;  he  discourses  on  cattle  and  horses  and 
sheep. 

A  newly  discovered  cave  in  El  Dorado  County, 
i6o  miles  away,  so  stirred  Mr.  King's  mountaineer- 
ing spirit  that  he  made  more  than  one  visit  to  it,  and 
described  it  to  his  Eastern  audience. 

Another  letter  is  devoted  to  a  careful  study  of 
mining  in  California.  He  gives  a  graphic  picture  of 
the  stage  ride,  the  pack-animals,  the  dreary  mining 
villages  and  camps,  with  their  shanties,  saloons  and 
billiard  rooms,  the  "honest  miner  of  the  Far  West," 
the  prospector  with  pick  and  pan.  He  describes  the 
various  stages  and  kinds  of  mining — the  cradle  and 
"long  tom,"  the  sluicing,  tunnelling,  shafting,  river 

[121] 


THOMAS  STARR  KING 

fluming,  gulching,  crushing,  and  hydraulic  tearing 
away  of  bluff  and  canon  wall,  "by  which  the  soil,  the 
rock,  the  beds  of  powerful  streams,  and  the  hidden 
strain  of  a  mountain's  heart  are  made  to  yield  the  shin- 
ing dust  that  was  mixed  with  them  ages  ago."  There 
are,  he  informs  his  readers,  over  seven  thousand  miles 
of  these  artificial  water  courses  in  the  state  to  carry 
the  indispensable  flood  into  the  heart  of  a  thousand 
mining  districts. 

Mr.  King  had  a  quick  eye  for  everything  that  was 
vital  and  characteristic  of  a  region  and  its  inhabi- 
tants, and  burned  with  desire  to  impart  his  own  re- 
actions to  others.  Through  all  his  communications 
shone  the  love  of  his  early  New  England  home,  its 
scenery,  institutions,  customs,  and  the  old-time 
friends  from  whom  his  new  environment  could  not 
wean  him.     On  the  first  of  October,  1861,  he  writes: 

"Ocean  Beach,  near  San  Francisco. 
"Four  days  ago  I  drove  out  upon  the  noble  beach 
in  the  rear  of  our  city.  I  say  the  rear,  for  San  Fran- 
cisco looks  inland.  A  long  placid  bay  dreams  at  her 
feet.  She  lifts  her  eyes  to  the  hills,  the  far-off  slopes 
of  the  Sierra,  'from  whence  cometh  her  help.'  They 
are  discernible,  they  and  the  foamy  whiteness  on  the 
crests  of  their  enchanted  surge,  from  the  dimpled 
summit  of  Mt.  Diablo  yonder.  Our  city  turns  her 
face  persistently  towards  the  East — signifying  that 
California  has  no  insane  vision  of  independence;  that 
she  desires  no  isolated  sway  over  the  Pacific,  but  is 
bound  by  loyalty  and  heart  to  the  empire  whose  flag 
she  plants  on  Mendocino,  the  Hatteras  of  the  West, 

[122] 


A  EULOGIST  OF  CALIFORNIA  SCENERY 

and  under  which  she  has  'sucked  of  the  abundance 
of  the  seas  and  of  treasures  hidden  in  the  sand.' 
Read  the  figures  of  her  recent  vote  and  decide  if  I 
interpret  her  attitude  wrongly. 

"As  soon  as  our  horses  struck  the  bright  sand,  eight 
miles  from  our  door,  my  companion  exclaimed: 
'There  is  nothing  like  sea  air.  This  is  Rockport 
over  again.'  We  can  show  you  no  such  luxury  of 
woods  as  you  on  Cape  Ann  can  revel  in — those 
thickets  of  Pigeon  Cove  in  which  one  loses  the  belief 
that  he  is  within  a  hundred  miles  of  the  surf,  except 
that  now  and  then  a  subtone  of  tender  thunder  rolls 
in  beneath  the  rustle  of  birches,  or  a  sudden  rift  in 
the  foliage  reveals  the  blazing  blue  of  the  sea  united 
by  creeping,  creamy  foam  with  the  curved  and  flash- 
ing gray  of  'Coffin's  Beach.'  Ah,  those  winding 
subtle  aisles  in  which  you  all  but  needed  the  thread 
of  Ariadne,  opening  now  upon  a  patch  of  swamp, 
aflame  with  the  cardinal  flower,  now  upon  hedges 
laden  with  quarts  of  blackberries,  and  now  into  som- 
bre shades  of  pine  where  no  secular  thoughts  can 
thrive!  No,  we  cannot  show  you  in  the  neighbor- 
hood of  our  beach  here,  such  wood  paths  or  such 
foliage.  Flowers  we  revel  in.  They  will  grow  with 
us  out  of  the  sunshine,  in  the  sand,  within  the  very 
spray  of  the  breakers.  But  trees  we  cannot  offer 
you.  We  go  to  the  Sierra,  plunge  into  the  glories 
of  their  forests,  and  come  back  to  live  a  year  on  the 
remembrance,  and  to  wonder  how  the  flowers  and 
vines  consent  to  bloom  so  luxuriously  without  the 
fellowship  of  their  strong  and  stately  brethren. 
Neither  can  we  compete,  on  our  beach,  with  your 
Rockport  waves.  Not  because  ours  is  the  Pacific 
Sea.  We  know  how  to  be  sublime  with  our  billows 
as  well  as  the  hoarse  Atlantic.     But  no  beach  can 

[123] 


THOMAS  STARR  KING 

show  such  billows  as  glorify  a  shelving  rocky  shore 
after  a  storm.  Beach-waves  are  thin  and  rhetorical 
contrasted  with  the  chasing  rock-waves,  which  are 
heavy,  impassioned,  Websterian.  Vividly  I  recall 
the  joy  of  watching  the  compact  battalions  of  the 
ground  swell  after  a  storm  that  had  stirred  the  hiding 
places  of  the  ocean's  might.  I  have  seen  Niagara  in 
winter;  but  the  gathering  of  one  of  these  billows  a 
quarter  of  a  mile  long,  in  a  smooth  grey  sea,  tower- 
ing and  darkening  as  it  rides  on,  setting  free  a  gleam 
of  brilliance  here  and  there  from  its  threatening  and 
thinning  edge,  and  then  pouring  a  long  avalanche  of 
light — the  thunder  and  the  flash  at  the  same  instant — 
up  the  slope  of  granite  that  allows  no  stain  to  the 
emerald  loop  or  the  creamy  dash  of  the  surge — this 
is  grander  than  Niagara;  and  whoever  can  see  this, 
as  Pigeon  Cove  shows  it  once  or  twice  in  the  summer, 
needs  not  to  envy  the  sight-seeing  even  of  angels. 

"But  on  our  Pacific  Ocean  Beach  we  can  beat  you 
in  some  things.  You  can  see  nothing  on  your  rocks 
and  near  them,  but  a  few  quails,  and  here  and  there 
some  sand-birds  and  plover,  with  now  and  then  a 
timid  mink  startled  by  the  bathers.  We  can  show 
you  cranes  as  tall  as  the  President  of  the  United 
States,  and  eagles  screaming  over  the  waves,  as  our 
national  eagle  hovers  over  the  moral  wave  from 
Nebraska  to  Aroostook,  and  on  an  island  a  little  way 
from  shore,  a  school  of  immense  sea-lions  climbing 
the  rocks  as  well  as  they  can  without  feet,  and  bark- 
ing in  a  hoarse  chorus  either  of  joy  or  defiance. 
Choose  a  day  that  is  transparent  and  you  will  see  the 
rocks  called  the  Farralones,  twenty-three  miles  out 
from  the  Golden  Gate.  There  are  six  of  them,  and 
Sir  Francis  Drake  put  them  into  English  literature 
forty  years  before  Plymouth  Rock  was  touched  by  a 

[124] 


A  EULOGIST  OF  CALIFORNIA  SCENERY 

Pilgrim  foot.  The  largest  of  them  is  a  jagged 
boulder  nearly  a  mile  long,  without  a  tree  or  shrub, 
but  carpeted  every  June  with  green  spotted  with 
brown,  not  exactly  in  the  form  of  lichens,  but  in  the 
shape  of  eggs,  which  find  their  way  by  myriads  to 
our  markets,  much  to  the  amazement  and  disgust,  no 
doubt,  of  the  birds  whose  hopes  of  posterity  are  thus 
nipped,  and  who  would  delight  to  see  our  marauding 
city  'shelled'  in  another  way.  We  would  show  you 
on  this  rock  a  Yankee  trick,  too,  by  which  old  Nep- 
tune is  made  to  give  warning  to  sailors  of  the  traps 
he  has  laid  for  them.  It  is  a  powerful  fog  whistle, 
erected  over  a  subterranean  passage  and  blown  by  the 
sea  which  breaks  into  it  beneath.  For  more  than 
twenty  hours  in  the  twenty-four,  the  surf  thus  sounds 
its  own  alarm  for  a  distance  of  seven  or  eight  miles." 

In  December  (31st),  1861,  Starr  King  sent  a  gra- 
phic account  to  the  Transcript  of  the  unprecedented, 
widely-extended  and  disastrous  floods  of  that  winter 
in  the  interior  of  Central  California.  A  district  as 
large  as  the  State  of  Massachusetts  was  under  water. 
On  a  personal  visit  he  found  that  every  street  in  the 
capital,  Sacramento,  was  inundated,  in  some  of  them 
the  racing  tides  were  from  ten  to  eighteen  feet  deep. 
Stockton,  Marysville,  were  similarly  inundated. 
The  whole  district  was  an  inland  lake  as  big  as  On- 
tario. The  loss  of  property,  cattle  and  crops  was 
immense.  One  third  of  the  taxable  values  of  the 
State  were  destroyed.  There  was  much  suffering, 
and  on  his  return  Mr.  King  actively  concerned  him- 
self with  the  work  of  relief  and  aid. 

[125] 


THOMAS  STARR  KING 

The  inveterate  mountain  climber  next  essays  the 
nearest  accessible  peak,  the  one  which  overlooks  San 
Francisco  Bay  and  was  daily  visible  from  his  win- 
dow. 

A  TRIP  TO  MONTE  DIABLO 

''There  are  two  ways  of  going  to  Monte  Diablo 
from  this  city.  We  can  cross  the  bay,  seven  miles,  by 
ferry,  to  Oakland,  mount  the  ridge,  some  1500  feet 
high,  back  of  whose  long  wall  we  see  the  shoulders 
and  crown  of  our  Eminence  soaring,  and  may  drive 
down  the  further  slope,  through  exquisite  canons  and 
plains,  green  now  in  the  glory  of  spring,  to  the  very 
base  of  the  monarch  of  our  neighborhood.  This 
would  be  to  make  a  'bee  line'  for  our  destination.  Or 
we  can  travel  most  of  the  distance  on  a  round  about 
track  by  water.  Let  us  try  the  latter  method.  We 
start  in  a  little  steamboat  at  eleven  in  the  forenoon, 
thus  enabling  us  to  reach  the  base  of  the  mountain 
before  sunset.  In  a  small,  slow  boat,  with  the  tides 
against  us,  we  have  ample  opportunity  to  study  and 
enjoy  the  scenery  around  the  bay.  We  have  passed 
the  swell  of  the  Golden  Gate  and  are  seeing  Alcatraz 
island  grow  dim  behind  us.  On  our  left,  as  we  steam 
up  the  bay,  is  Tamalpais,  our  jewel.  One  of  these 
days  I  hope  to  scale  it  and  send  you  a  report  of  the 
splendid  waterscape  it  commands.  For  on  one  side 
the  ocean  chafes  its  rugged  outworks;  on  the  other 
side  its  canons  subside  into  gentle  slopes  that  are 
tenderly  bathed  by  the  pulsations  of  the  Bay.  The 
mountain  rises  nearly  3000  feet  above  the  sea  and 
supports  a  noble  peak.  But  its  sides  are  torn  with 
such  channels  as  we  seldom  see  in  the  New  Hamp- 
shire heights.     In  studying  this  hill  vour  eyes  must 

[126] 


A  EULOGIST  OF  CALIFORNIA  SCENERY 

get  used  to  wrinkles  that  would  crimp  Mt.  Wash- 
ington so  that  his  best  friends  would  not  know  him. 
What  would  I  not  give  for  a  picture  of  Tamalpais 
at  five  in  the  afternoon,  when  the  soft  light  falls  upon 
the  tops  of  those  billowy  ravines  whose  deeps  of  green 
are  dimly  detected  through  azure  mist,  while  the 
shadow  of  the  whole  mountain  is  beginning  to  steal 
out  upon  the  sheltered  cove  of  San  Rafael. 

"Up  now  through  the  wide  ring  of  San  Pablo  bay 
and  then  into  the  narrow  straits  of  Carquinez  we  sail 
under  the  brilliant  noon,  and  watching  with  delight 
the  soft  swells  of  unruffled  green  on  either  bank. 
Not  a  stone  mars  the  monotonous  luxury  of  verdure. 
We  are  approaching  Benicia.  But  let  us  watch  for 
the  first  appearance  of  Monte  Diablo.  From  San 
Francisco  we  can  see  only  his  dome  rising  back  of  a 
long  range  of  lower  and  nearer  hills.  We  have 
turned  now  the  flank  of  that  range,  and  in  a  few 
minutes  shall  see  him  start  out  from  base  to  summit. 
Ah,  the  view  begins.  We  catch  sight  of  the  plain 
on  which  he  rests.  It  ripples  gently  from  the  bay 
into  the  interior,  then  comes  an  encircling  outwork 
of  plateau,  whose  embankment  is  cut  freely  into 
ravines,  and  then  the  climbing  line  of  the  mountain 
up  to  a  height  of  nearly  3000  feet,  when  it  begins  to 
dip  again,  yet  not  far;  again  it  rises  and  springs  to 
a  second  summit,  the  true  peak,  nearly  4000  feet 
above  the  water,  whose  smoothness  we  are  cutting  in 
our  haste  to  reach  the  pier  at  Benicia. 

"In  half  an  hour  we  will  try  the  ferry  across  to 
Martinez  on  the  other  side  of  the  strait,  but  not  till 
the  expected  rain  has  come.  In  a  black  volume  of 
wrath  it  rolls  towards  us  from  the  West,  as  though 
it  would  discharge  in  frightful  thunder.  But  not  a 
flash  leaps  from  it,  not  a  roar  bursts  from  its  wild 

[127] 


THOMAS  STARR  KING 

breast.  All  the  rains  of  the  Coast  region  are  tame. 
I  have  never  seen  a  flame  of  lightning,  nor  heard  a 
thunder  peal  in  this  state,  save  on  the  22nd  of  Decem- 
ber, i860.  Then  in  San  Francisco  the  heavens  gave 
us  some  martial  music.  Perhaps  as  the  rebellion  was 
then  getting  under  headway,  and  we  were  in  danger 
here,  it  was  a  reveille  for  the  Northern  and  Pilgrim 
spirit  in  our  city  and  state.  If  so,  the  result  must 
seem  satisfactory.  Through  the  roses  of  Martinez, 
and  out  over  the  green  and  charming  plains  we  drive 
towards  Clayton  at  the  base  of  Monte  Diablo,  where 
the  discovery  of  some  coal  mines — a  great  blessing 
to  a  state  whose  coal,  via  Cape  Horn,  is  worth  twenty- 
four  dollars  a  ton — has  started  a  little  village  and  a 
tolerable  hotel.  It  is  fourteen  miles  from  Martinez 
to  our  destination.  We  left  San  Francisco  at  eleven 
o'clock  A.  M.;  we  reached  Clayton  at  6  P.  M.  and  are 
in  doubt  in  this  delicious  evening  air,  and  amid  the 
soft  and  finished  landscape,  if  we  have  not  been 
driven  by  some  beneficent  sorcery  into  an  enchanted 
land. 

"What  gracefully  moulded  hills !  What  loveliness 
of  dimples  and  shadows!  What  an  exquisite  tint  of 
green,  lighter  and  livelier  than  Nature  wears  in  New 
England!  What  stripes  and  patches  of  flowers  upon 
the  slopes!  What  nobleness  of  trees  flinging  their 
shadows  singly  upon  an  acre  of  unbroken  beauty  of 
grain,  or  entangling  them  as  they  fall  from  parks  that 
are  disturbed  by  no  underbrush.  Only  a  few  months 
has  this  Clayton  been  in  existence,  and  it  is  em- 
bosomed in  a  landscape  which  seems  to  have  been 
under  a  line  of  landscape  gardeners  for  half  a  dozen 
centuries,  and  over  all  the  top  of  Diablo  is  burning 
with  the  Tyrian  fire  of  evening.  What  peace,  what 
bounty,  what  luxury  of  slope  and  verdure!     A  party 

[128] 


A  EULOGIST  OF  CALIFORNIA  SCENERY 

of  wise,  hospitable  and  delightful  men,  who  are  mak- 
ing the  Geological  Survey  for  the  State,  are  en- 
camped in  a  field  nearby.  Their  camp  fire  begins 
to  burn  soon  after  the  evening  star  is  out.  We  stretch 
out  with  them  on  the  grass  near  that  blaze,  and  with 
a  great  content  amid  so  much  beauty  and  such  rich 
hope  for  the  morrow,  enjoying  wit  and  Whitney  and 
wisdom  till  midnight  warns  us  to  rest. 

THE  ASCENT  OF  MONTE  DIABLO 

"After  enjoying  the  untiring  sweetness  of  the  land- 
scape around  Clayton  in  the  morning  light,  we  join 
the  party  for  the  ascent  of  Mt.  Diablo.  How  clear 
the  air  is!  Not  a  wisp  of  vapor  rests  on  the  summit. 
It  invites  us  up  to  a  view  as  wide  as  its  namesake  once 
revealed  from  a  Syrian  peak.  The  distance  is  eight 
miles.  You  can  ride  on  a  horse  or  a  mule,  unless  you 
prefer  better  company  on  foot.  I  advise  you  not  to 
ride.  Keep  near  Professor  Whitney  and  learn  the 
age  of  those  steep  metamorphic  rocks  that  cast  ragged 
and  wild  shadows  down  into  the  Western  ravines. 
You  won't  be  bored  with  lectures.  You  will  get  the 
truth  in  flashes,  like  light  leaping  from  a  burnished 
sabre;  and  in  a  moment  after  a  generalization  that 
opens  a  gleam  for  you  back  to  pre-adamite  years,  back 
to  the  pulpy  babyhood  of  Diablo,  look  out  for  a  pun 
that  would  make  Tom  Hood  envious,  or  a  stroke  of 
wit  that  would  do  honor  to  Hosea  Biglow. 

"And  do  not  lag  behind  Professor  Brewer  either. 
You  will  need  all  the  suppleness  of  limb  which  a 
Mount  Washington  experience  has  developed  to  keep 
pace  with  him.  But  how  can  you  else  get  'posted'  in 
the  strange  botany  of  the  upward  track?  He  is  our 
California  Solomon.  He  will  tell  you  the  name  of 
every  shrub  along  the  first  three  miles  of  our  rolling 

[129] 


THOMAS  STARR  KING 

and  gently  rising  road.  He  will  tell  you  how  few  of 
them  have  any  representatives  East.  What  do  you 
think  of  alders  that  are  not  bush  but  trees  one  hundred 
feet  tall?  What  do  you  think  of  patches  all  aflame 
with  scarlet  larkspur,  and  open  acres  glowing  with 
the  orange  splendor  of  squadrons  of  the  Esch- 
Scholtzia,  while  other  acres  are  bedecked  with  the 
nodding  grace  of  the 

'  Columbine  with  horn  of  honey?' 

But  harder  climbing  begins,  and  as  we  are  shut  in  by 
the  walls  of  a  ravine  and  lose  the  breeze,  the  heat  in- 
creases. 

"But  the  study  of  the  formation  of  the  mountain 
and  the  grandeur  of  the  rocks,  once  fused  by  fire, 
which  are  adorned  on  the  opposite  wall  with  a  few 
stripes  of  green,  but  with  the  most  fantastic  ribands 
of  shadow,  and  the  occasional  gleam  of  the  distant 
country,  and  the  bright  talk  of  the  professors  make 
the  path  seem  short.  At  last  we  emerge  from  the 
canon  and  stand  out  on  the  ridge  which  leads  to  the 
mountain  crest.  What  splendor  breaks  upon  us  from 
the  valleys  at  the  Southeast  and  South!  It  seems  to 
me  that  the  word  green  was  never  understood  until 
I  looked  down  into  the  valleys  of  Pacheco,  and  Ama- 
dor, and  San  Ramon.  There  was  no  deep,  strong 
summer  verdure  like  that  of  New  England  grass  in 
July,  but  a  rolling  immensity  of  light-lined,  flashing 
green.  Miles  and  miles  of  slope  and  plain  were  alive 
with  such  tints  as  break  through  the  foam  of  a  clean 
sea-wave,  when  it  combs  upon  a  shelving  rocky  shore. 
The  spring  green  on  the  low  hills  and  upon  the 
ranches  between  Diablo  and  the  Coast  Range  has  a 
light,  cheery,  gay,  flashing  quality  which  no  land- 
scape at  the  East  ever  wears.     In  four  weeks  from  the 

[130] 


A  EULOGIST  OF  CALIFORNIA  SCENERY 

time  when  our  party  saw  it,  it  would  be  a  monotonous 
brown.  Nature  atones  by  the  splendor  for  the 
brevity. 

"And  now  we  must  make  a  strong  pull  for  the 
mountain  top.  But  don't  let  your  enthusiasm  over 
that  green  in  the  valleys  swamp  your  prudence. 
Look  out  how  you  swing  your  arms  carelessly  among 
these  shrubs  with  dark  green  crimped  and  sherry 
leaves — especially  if  your  gloves  are  off.  That  is 
the  'poison  oak,'  as  it  is  absurdly  named.  If  it  grew 
only  on  Diablo  we  might  think  that  Satan  had  mixed 
its  juices;  but  as  it  abounds  throughout  California, 
we  will  refrain  from  a  theory  which  attributes  to  his 
Duskyship  so  wide  a  jurisdiction  in  these  parts. 
Many  persons  cannot  breathe  the  air  where  it  grows 
without  suffering  seriously.  Admire  its  color,  con- 
verse with  Professor  Brewer  about  the  probable 
cause  of  its  antipathy  to  our  race,  but  keep  clear  of 
it  as  if  each  of  its  glossy  twigs  warned  you  by  a 
rattle. 

"We  have  came  to  the  last  ascent.  In  two  minutes 
we  gain  the  bald  crown  of  Diablo.  No  near  moun- 
tains impede  our  vision.  We  turn  slowly  round  and 
sweep  an  immense  horizon.  And  what  a  spectacle! 
We  stand  3881  feet  (so  Professor  Whitney  determined 
by  careful  calculations  made  during  this  excursion) 
above  the  Pacific — and  there  is  its  level  azure  on  the 
West.  We  look  off  over  the  Contra  Costa  heights 
down  upon  the  bay  of  San  Francisco,  and  out  through 
the  cleft  of  the  Golden  Gate,  out  upon  the  sleeping 
sea  to  the  misty  blending  of  its  blue  with  the  calmer 
sky.  The  sleeping  sea,  I  say.  It  is  really  roughened 
by  a  very  strong  breeze — for  the  fog  is  moving  in 
shreds  along  the  bay,  and  we  know  that  a  high  wind 
is  rioting  over  San  Francisco,  wild  from  the  coolness 

[131] 


THOMAS  STARR  KING 

of  the  ocean.  But  we  are  thirty  miles  from  the 
Golden  Gate  by  air  line.  The  tops  of  the  streets  of 
San  Francisco,  here  and  there,  are  visible,  and  their 
sandy  stripes  down  to  the  bay.  The  whole  extent  of 
the  bay  itself,  whose  shore  line  turning  at  right  angles 
about  midway,  runs  up  towards  the  centre  of  the 
State,  and  measures  more  than  a  hundred  miles  before 
it  begins  to  return,  lies  below  us.  Tamalpais  lifts 
its  sculptured  gracefulness  directly  on  the  West,  and 
combines  with  the  long  line  of  the  Coast  Range,  of 
which  he  is  the  proudest  pillar,  to  prevent  a  view 
of  the  sea-expanse  beyond.  Below  the  southerly 
limit  of  the  bay  we  see  the  noble  Bache  mountain, 
named  in  honor  of  the  accomplished  chief  of  the 
Coast  Survey,  which  overtops  the  region  of  the  Al- 
maden  quick-silver  mines. 

^'Turning  now  to  the  north  we  see  above  the 
glorious  Napa  valley,  and  forty  miles  away,  the 
pyramid  of  Mt.  St.  Helena,  twelve  hundred  feet 
higher  than  we  stand.  Beyond  that  is  the  Sulphur 
Peak  that  gazes  down  on  one  side  upon  the  exquisite 
Russian  River  verdure  and  fertility,  and  on  another 
into  the  streams  and  desolation  of  the  Geyser  Canon. 
Still  farther  back,  and  thirty  miles  more  distant,  are 
the  rocky  ridges  that  wall  the  Clear  Lake  region, 
one  or  two  of  them  seven  thousand  feet  high,  tipped 
with  snow. 

"Directly  beneath  us  are  the  two  great  rivers  of 
Central  California,  the  Sacramento  and  the  San 
Joaquin.  Far  up  to  the  north,  for  scores  of  miles, 
we  follow  the  receding  amber  of  the  Sacramento's 
tide,  branching  off  into  its  tributaries.  Far  to  the 
south  we  trace  the  same  line  of  the  San  Joaquin 
through  plains  as  bountiful  as  this  earth  upholds  on 
her  liberal  bosom.     But  nowhere  do  we  see  a  stripe 

[132] 


A  EULOGIST  OF  CALIFORNIA  SCENERY 

of  pure  color  in  these  tides.  Far  as  we  can  trace 
them  they  are  turbid  with  the  burden  of  the  washings 
for  gold  in  the  interior, — the  mountains  they  are 
moving  into  the  Bay  of  San  Francisco  and  the  sea. 

"It  takes  some  time  to  become  accustomed  to  the 
immense  scale  of  these  plains.  Out  of  the  smooth 
exposure,  ninety  miles  by  air-line  on  the  north,  the 
beautiful  Yuba  Buttes  leave  their  outline,  and  still 
the  plains  stretch  far  beyond  them.  It  seems  as  if 
half  the  world  might  be  fed  by  the  opulence  of  these 
prairies  fitly  tilled. 

"But  what  guards  them  on  the  east?  Look  at  the 
magnificent  barrier;  what  majesty,  what  splendor! 
There  you  see  the  wonderful  wall  of  the  Sierra,  its 
foothills  that  roll  in  huge  surges,  all  reduced  by  dis- 
tance to  regular  slopes  of  unbroken  bulwark.  For 
two  hundred  and  fifty  miles  the  mighty  breastwork 
is  in  view,  and  along  the  whole  line  crowned  with 
blazing  snow!  Here  and  there  peaks  rise  above  it, 
from  eleven  thousand  to  fourteen  thousand  feet  in 
height — but  they  do  not  break  the  impression  upon 
the  eye  of  an  impassable  wall,  an  everlasting  prohibi- 
tion by  the  Creator  of  all  intercourse  with  the  world 
beyond.  And  yet  there  are  half  a  dozen  passes  over 
that  embankment  into  Washoe,  by  which  a  light 
Concord  wagon  can  travel ;  and  the  scream  of  the 
steam  whistle  of  the  Pacific  Railroad  will  startle 
those  icy  heights  before  many  years.  As  I  write 
these  very  words  tidings  have  come  by  telegraph, 
whose  slender  wire  crosses  these  white  solitudes, 
that  'President  Lincoln  has  signed  the  Pacific  Rail- 
road bill.' 

"Nowhere  in  Europe  can  such  a  vast  mountain 
line  be  seen  as  Diablo  showed  us  on  that  clear  day. 
And  what  a  vast  extent  of  territory!     Our  scientific 

[133] 


THOMAS  STARR  KING 

companions  of  the  Survey  by  their  instruments  and 
sober  reckoning  discovered  that  within  the  range  of 
our  vision  lay  an  expanse  of  46,000  square  miles! 
An  area  as  large  as  the  State  of  New  York!  And 
this  but  little  more  than  a  quarter  of  California. 
Imagine  what  the  state  will  be  when  all  its  varied 
mineral  veins  are  pouring  out  their  riches  of  copper 
and  iron  and  coal,  and  silver,  quicksilver  and  gold, 
and  when  its  plains  with  their  grain  and  cattle,  and 
its  foothills  with  their  vines  and  orchards,  are  com- 
peting with  its  mines  in  the  supply  of  plenty  and 
wealth." 

A  vacation  trip  among  the  Sierras  the  very  first 
summer  after  Mr.  King's  arrival  in  California  re- 
vealed to  him  the  splendors  of  their  scenery,  and  im- 
pelled him  to  make  their  characteristic  features 
known  to  the  dwellers  on  the  Atlantic  side  of  the 
Continent. 

AMONG  THE  BIG  TREES 

"November,  i860. 
"We  were  very  tired  when  we  dismounted  at 
Clarke's  log  hut  and  canvas  dining  tent  in  the  glorious 
forest,  thirty  miles  from  Mariposa.  Tired  in  body 
and  in  brain, — tired  by  our  seven  hours  of  horseback 
riding,  and  by  the  perpetual  feast  of  floral  beauty 
and  sugar  pine  magnificence  which  had  delighted 
eye  and  heart.  But  it  did  not  take  long  to  restore  us. 
We  were  only  five  miles  from  the  Mammoth  Trees. 
An  easy  upland  ride  of  an  hour  would  lead  us  to  the 
grove  where  the  vegetable  Titans  we  had  so  often 
read  about,  with  a  wonder  tinged  with  unbelief,  held 
their  solemn  court.  .  .  . 

[134] 


A  EULOGIST  OF  CALIFORNIA  SCENERY 

"There  are  two  large  groves  of  the  mammoth  trees 
in  California.  The  one  which  is  usually  visited  is 
in  Calaveras  County.  It  contains  hardly  a  third  as 
many  trees  as  the  Mariposa  cluster  which  we  are 
in  search  of,  but  is  much  more  easy  of  access.  It 
covers  about  as  much  space  as  the  Boston  Common 
and  a  good  carriage  road  leads  to  the  heart  of  it. 
You  drive  up  to  a  hotel  and  find  the  grounds  trimmed 
up  and  the  trees  named  and  labelled  for  guests.  The 
'Hercules'  in  this  group  is  93  feet  in  circumference. 
The  'California,'  73  feet  in  circuit,  shoots  up  straight 
as  an  arrow  310  feet.  The  'Mother  of  the  Forest'  is 
327  feet  high  and  nearly  80  feet  girth. 

"The  Mariposa  group  stands  as  the  Creator  has 
fashioned  it,  unprofaned  except  by  fire,  which  long 
before  the  advent  of  Saxon  white  men,  had  charred 
the  base  of  the  larger  portion  of  the  stalwart  trees. 
We  rode  on  for  an  hour,  till  we  reached  a  forest 
plateau  five  thousand  feet  above  the  sea.  This,  in 
New  England,  is  the  height  of  Mt.  Madison,  where 
not  a  thing  can  grow.  Riding  on  a  few  rods  through 
ordinary  evergreens  with  dark  stems,  we  at  last  catch 
a  glimpse  of  a  strange  color  in  the  forest.  It  is  a 
tree  in  the  distance  of  a  light  cinnamon  hue.  We 
ride  nearer  and  nearer,  seeing  others  of  the  same 
complexion  starting  out  in  most  impressive  contrast 
with  the  sombre  columns  of  the  wilderness.  We  are 
now  in  the  grove  of  the  Titans.  The  bark  has  a  right 
leonine  effect  on  the  eye.  We  single  out  one  of  them 
for  a  first  acquaintance,  and  dismount  at  its  root. 

"I  must  confess  that  my  own  feeling,  as  I  first 
scanned  it,  and  let  the  eye  roam  up  its  tawny  pillar, 
was  one  of  intense  disappointment.  But  then,  I  said 
to  myself,  this  is  doubtless  one  of  the  striplings  of  the 
Anak  brood — only  a  small  affair  of  some  forty  feet 

[135] 


THOMAS  STARR  KING 

in  girth.  I  took  out  the  measuring  line,  fastened  it 
to  the  trunk  with  a  knife,  and  walked  around,  un- 
winding as  I  went.  The  line  was  seventy-five  feet 
long.  I  came  to  the  end  of  the  line  before  com- 
pleting the  circuit.  Nine  feet  more  were  needed. 
I  had  dismounted  before  a  structure  84  feet  in  cir- 
cumference and  nearly  300  feet  high.  It  did  not  look 
to  me  twice  as  large  as  the  Big  Elm  in  Boston  Com- 
mon, although  that  is  only  18  feet  in  circumference, 
and  this  was  28  feet  in  diameter. 

"There  are  nearly  three  times  as  many  of  the  giant 
species  in  this  grove  as  in  the  Calaveras  cluster. 
Divided  into  two  groups,  there  are  six  hundred  and 
fifty  of  them,  within  a  space  of  one  mile  by  three- 
quarters,  one  of  102  feet  girth,  two  of  100,  one  of  97, 
and  so  on.  More  than  a  hundred  trees  measure  50 
feet  and  upwards  in  circumference. 

"This  crowd  of  majestic  forms  explains  the  disap- 
pointment in  first  entering  the  grove.  The  general 
scale  is  too  immense.  Half  a  dozen  of  the  largest 
trees,  spaced  half  a  mile  apart,  and  properly  set  off 
by  the  trees  of  six  and  eight  feet  in  girth  would  shake 
the  most  volatile  mind  with  awe.  Four  days  after- 
wards, on  the  homeward  path  by  another  trail,  I 
struck  off  the  track  to  see  some  big  trees  near  Crane's 
Flat.  The  first  one  we  approached  was  the  only  one 
of  the  species  in  the  range  of  vision,  and  reared  its 
snuff-colored  column  among  some  ordinary  firs. 
How  majestic  it  swelled  and  towered!  My  com- 
panion and  I  both  exclaimed,  'This  is  the  largest 
tree  we  have  yet  seen;  this  will  measure  more  than 
a  hundred  feet  in  girth.'  We  gazed  for  a  long  time 
at  its  soaring  stem,  from  which,  a  hundred  feet  above 
us,  the  branches  that  shot  out  bent  suddenly  upwards, 
like  the  pictures  of  the  golden  candlesticks  in  the 

[136] 


A  EULOGIST  OF  CALIFORNIA  SCENERY 

Hebrew  temple.  It  seemed  profane  to  put  a  measur- 
ing tape  upon  such  a  piece  of  organized  sublimity. 
But  we  made  the  trial.  It  was  just  fifty-six  feet  in 
circuit — but  little  more  than  half  the  size  of  the 
Monarchs  in  Mariposa  which  it  seemed  to  excel  so 
much  in  majesty.  There  were  a  hundred  trees  in  the 
Mariposa  grove  larger  than  this,  and  all  of  them  to- 
gether did  not  make  half  the  impression  on  me  that 
this  one  stamped  into  the  brain  at  first  sight.  We 
need  to  see  the  'Mother  of  the  Forest,'  for  instance, 
towering  near  Trinity  Church  in  New  York,  and 
overtopping  its  spire  with  a  column  whose  life  is 
older  than  the  doctrine  of  the  Trinity,  to  appreciate 
its  vastness. 

"We  ought  to  be  able  to  see  the  'Fountain  Tree'  of 
the  Mariposa  Grove,  a  hundred  and  two  feet  in  cir- 
cuit, rising  near  the  Bunker  Hill  Monument,  and 
bearing  up  its  crown  eighty  feet  above  it,  to  feel  the 
marvel  of  its  bulk  and  vitality.  Think  of  that  monu- 
ment as  a  living  structure.  Conceive  it  as  having 
grown  from  a  granite  seed  whose  outpouring  life 
absorbed  from  the  earth,  and  attracted  from  the 
winds  fine  granite  dust,  to  be  slowly  compacted  by 
internal  and  unerring  masonry  into  the  solid  squares 
of  its  strength  and  its  tapering  symmetry!  A  work 
far  more  marvelous  than  this  has  been  wrought  by 
each  fragment  of  a  cone  that  took  root  5,(X)0  feet 
on  a  ridge  of  the  Sierras  centuries  ago  and  now  is 
represented  by  an  organism  of  thirty  feet  diameter. 
Indeed,  it  is  quite  probable  that  there  have  been  a 
few  trees  in  both  the  Mariposa  and  Calaveras  Groves, 
which  have  built  their  sublime  columns  out  of  the 
air  through  the  energy  of  a  single  seed,  in  whose 
trunk  Bunker  Hill  Monument  could  have  been  in- 
serted and  hidden,  while  the  stem  would  still  spring 
more  than  200  feet  above  its  apex  stone. 

[137] 


THOMAS  STARR  KING 

"What  an  afternoon  I  passed  in  the  Mariposa 
Grove!  I  lay  for  half  an  hour  alone  at  the  root  of 
the  most  colossal  bole — my  companions  out  of  sight 
and  hearing — and  watched  the  golden  sunshine 
mounting  the  amber  trunk,  and  at  last  leaving  a  hun- 
dred feet  of  it  in  shadow^  to  flood  its  mighty  boughs 
and  locks  with  tender  luster.  What  silence  and 
what  mystery!  How  many  centuries  of  summers  has 
such  evening  splendor  burnished  thus  the  summit  of 
its  completed  shaft?  How  long  since  the  quicken- 
ing sunbeam  fell  upon  the  first  spear  of  green  in 
which  the  prophecy  of  the  superb  obelisk  was  en- 
folded? Why  cannot  the  dumb  column  now  be  con- 
fidential? There  comes  a  breath  of  wind  cooled  by 
the  snow  on  higher  swells  of  the  Sierras,  which  can 
be  seen  from  the  western  edge  of  the  grove; — why 
will  not  the  old  patriarch  take  advantage  of  that 
ripple  through  his  leaves  and  whisper  to  me  his  age? 
Are  you  as  old  as  Noah?  Do  you  span  the  centuries 
as  far  as  Moses?  Can  you  remember  the  time  of 
Solomon?  Were  you  planted  before  the  seed  of 
Rome  took  root  in  Italy?  At  any  rate  tell  me 
whether  or  not  your  birth  belongs  to  the  Christian 
centuries,  whether  we  must  write  B.  C.  or  A.  D.  against 
your  infancy?  I  promised  the  stalwart  greybeard  I 
would  tell  nobody,  or  at  most  only  The  Transcript, 
if  he  would  just  drop  into  my  ear  the  hour  of  his 
nativity.  Perhaps  he  would  have  told  me,  if  my 
party  had  not  returned  to  disturb  the  conditions  of 
a  communication. 

"A  genial  evening  of  life  to  the  Methuselahs  of 
the  wilderness  who  were  babes  a  thousand  years 
ago!"^ 

1  Prof .   Willis   L.   Jepson,   an   authority  on   this  subject,   and   connected 
with  the  botanical   department  of  The   University  of  California,   infornns 

[138] 


A  EULOGIST  OF  CALIFORNIA  SCENERY 

A  final  selection  shall  be  taken  from  Mr.  King's 
letters  describing  the  Yosemite  Valley. 

THE  APPROACH  TO  THE  YOSEMITE 

"November,  i860. 
"After  four  hours  of  moderate  climbing  through 
the  glorious  woods  we  began  to  be  on  the  watch  for 
some  signs  of  the  rocks  that  wall  in  the  Yosemite 
Valley.  We  rode  on  and  on,  and  yet  saw  no  line 
ahead  of  a  rocky  activity.  Our  guides  from  Coulter- 
ville  had  never  been  over  this  Mariposa  trail,  and  I 
began  to  feel  almost  sure  that  we  had  missed  the 
track.  Just  when  I  was  about  to  call  a  Council 
of  War  we  passed  out  from  among  the  stripling 
trees  and  found  ourselves — on  the  edge  of  a  trench 
in  the  Sierras  four  thousand  feet  deep  and  six  or 
eight  miles  long!  We  came  to  a  precipice  of  sheer 
rock  which  is  2700  feet  deep.  Immediately  oppo- 
site, about  a  mile  across,  a  portion  of  that  northerly 
wall  stands  up  3800  feet  high.  It  does  not  abate 
a  jot  from  the  perpendicular.  It  is  clean,  naked 
granite.  A  plummet  could  be  dropped  straight 
from  its  pediment  to  its  base.  On  our  southerly  side 
the  wall  rises  gradually  in  height  to  the  right  hand, 
or  east,  of  us,  and  in  some  portions  rears  a  spire 
1600  feet  higher  than  where  we  are.  The  great 
dome  of  smooth  unspotted  rock,  eight  miles  distant 
from  us  by  air-line  on  this  southerly  wall,  lacks  in 
few  yards  only,  by  measurement,  of  five  thousand 

the  author:  "The  living  Sequoia  giganteas  commonly  range  in  age  from 
1 100  to  1400  years,  while  a  good  many  go  to  2200  years,  and  one  tree 
whose  age  has  been  determined  very  carefully  reached  3248  years,  a 
figure  which  is  accurate  in  the  sense  that  the  range  of  error  is  limited  to 
six  or  ten  years  either  way.  Figures  for  greater  ages  often  published, 
are  not  the  results  of  accurate  studies." 

[139] 


THOMAS  STARR  KING 

feet  above  the  stream  that  winds  beneath  it.     But 
it  is  everywhere  abrupt  and  sheer. 

^'How  can  I  express  the  awe  and  joy  that  were 
blended  and  continually  struggling  with  each  other, 
during  the  half  hour  in  the  hot  noon  that  we  re- 
mained on  the  edge  of  the  abyss,  where  the  grandeurs 
of  the  Yosemite  were  first  revealed  to  us?  The 
ramparts  of  the  vast  trench  curve  so  much  that  we 
could  not  see  more  than  half  its  length  towards  the 
east.  At  our  left,  on  the  west,  the  course  of  the 
beautiful  Merced  could  be  followed  for  a  dozen 
miles.  There  was  a  grave  cheerfulness  in  the  gen- 
eral aspect  of  the  tremendous  furrow,  in  spite  of 
the  bareness  of  the  scraped  wall,  and  the  desolation 
enthroned  upon  the  lofty  summit  springing  300  feet 
higher  into  the  bleak  air  from  the  most  northerly 
portion  of  the  opposite  battlement. 

"I  had  read  in  a  volume  of  travels  among  the 
highest  Himalayas  of  the  singularly  blue  tone  of 
the  cliffs  and  rocks.  This  was  very  striking  in  the 
first  sight  of  the  Yosemite.  There  was  a  delicate 
and  most  charming  blue  tint  spread  over  the  walls 
and  heights.  Look  steadily  at  a  cliff  and  it  would 
wear  a  deathly  ash  color;  a  lambent  light,  vivify- 
ing it  to  the  general  glance.  Then  at  the  bottom, 
you  gazed  not  upon  desolation  but  upon  the  loveli- 
est meadows  skirted  by  stately  trees  and  veined  by 
a  river  as  large  as  the  upper  Connecticut.  On  the 
ramparts  opposite  streams  were  plunging  with  reck- 
less fury  to  the  valley  below.  To  our  eyes,  however, 
there  was  no  fury: 

'But  like  a  downward  smoke  the  slender  stream 
Along  the  cliff  to  fall  and  pause  did  seem.' 

There  was  the  murmur  of  a  heavy  waterfall  be- 

[140] 


A  EULOGIST  OF  CALIFORNIA  SCENERY 

neath  us.  A  slight  change  in  our  position  showed 
us  a  sudden  sag  of  the  rock  line  on  our  southerly 
wall,  and  there,  1500  feet  below  us,  a  cataract  which 
took  one  plunge  of  nearly  a  thousand  feet  before  its 
spray  was  shattered  on  the  rocks.  The  scene  was 
sublime,  but  it  was  not  lonely,  desolate,  or  sombre, 
as  I  had  expected.  And  all  the  angularity  and  hard- 
ness of  line  in  the  ramparts  was  soothed  by  some 
indefinable  mystic  grace.  I  was  not  surprised,  there- 
fore, to  learn  that  this  spot  where  this  magnificence 
first  bursts  into  vision  is  named  Inspiration  Point. 

'The  Yosemite  Valley. 
''The  Yosemite  valley  is  a  pass  about  ten  miles 
long,  which  at  its  eastern  extremity,  splits  into  three 
narrow  notches,  each  of  which  extends  several  miles, 
winding  by  the  wildest  paths  into  the  heart  of  the 
Sierra  Nevada  chain.  For  seven  miles  of  the  main 
valley,  which  varies  in  width  from  three-quarters 
of  a  mile  to  a  mile  and  a  half,  the  walls  are  from  two 
thousand  to  nearly  five  thousand  feet  above  the  road 
and  are  nearly  perpendicular.  The  valley  is  of  such 
irregular  width  and  bends  so  much,  and  often  so 
abruptly  that  there  is  a  great  variety  and  frequent 
surprise  in  the  forms  and  combinations  of  the  over- 
hanging rocks,  as  one  rides  along  the  banks  of  the 
stream.  The  patches  of  luxuriant  meadow  with 
their  dazzling  green,  and  the  grouping  of  the  superb 
firs,  two  hundred  feet  high,  that  skirt  them,  and  that 
shoot  above  the  stout  and  graceful  oaks  and  syca- 
mores, are  delightful  nests  of  sweetness  and  beauty 
amid  the  threatening  awfulness — like  the  threads 
and  flashes  of  melody  that  relieve  the  towering 
masses  of  Beethoven's  harmony.  The  Ninth  Sym- 
phony is  the  Yosemite  of  music.  The  Merced, 
which  flows  through  the  main  aisle  we  are  speaking 

[HI] 


THOMAS  STARR  KING 

of,  is  a  noble  stream  a  hundred  feet  wide  and  ten 
feet  deep.  It  is  formed  chiefly  by  the  streams  that 
leap  and  rush  through  the  narrow  notches  above 
referred  to,  and  it  is  swollen  also  by  the  bounty  of 
the  marvellous  waterfalls  that  pour  down  the  ram- 
parts of  the  wider  valley. 

"Now  let  us  descend  from  Inspiration  Point  by  a 
very  steep  trail  to  the  level  of  the  Merced,  and  ride 
up  between  the  cliffs  to  such  rude  hospitality  as  the 
isolation  of  the  region  may  afford.  At  the  foot  of 
the  break-neck  declivity  we  reach  the  banks  of  the 
Merced  and  every  rod  of  the  six  miles  ride  to  the 
'hotel'  awakens  wonder,  awe,  and  a  solemn  joy. 
First,  we  come  within  the  sound  of  a  sweet  and 
steady  thunder  which  seems  to  pour  from  heights 
at  our  right  hand.  Soon  we  ford  and  cross  in  turn 
a  dozen  rivulets  that  flow  merrily  athwart  the  trail, 
and  then  through  a  wider  opening  among  the  trees 
we  see  the  parent  stream.  But  it  is  no  prosaic  water. 
It  is  a  gush  of  splendor,  a  column  of  concentrated 
light  from  heaven;  of  course,  we  turn  our  horses' 
heads  straight  toward  it.  Soon  we  dismount,  and 
clamber  over  the  boulders  and  debris  around  which 
its  dishevelled  strands  are  briskly  leaping.  The 
rich  bass  deepens  as  we  rise,  and  before  long  we  are 
in  a  cloud  of  spray  that  mounts 

'And  thence  again 
Returns  in  an  unceasing  shower,  which  round 
With  its  unemptied  cloud  of  gentle  rain, 
Is  an  eternal  April  to  the  ground, 
Making  it  all  one  emerald.' 

"Not  a  very  'gentle'  rain,  however,  as  our  soaked 
clothes  soon  attested.  I  did  not  stay  long  amid  the 
glories  of  its  flashing  iridescence,  for  I  wished  to 

[142] 


A  EULOGIST  OF  CALIFORNIA  SCENERY 

stand  by  the  wall  itself  and  look  up.  So  I  pushed 
ahead  through  the  blowing  rainbows,  and  soon 
reached  the  smooth-faced  ramparts.  I  was  now  en- 
tirely safe  from  the  spray,  which  fell  forty  feet  in 
front  of  me  upon  the  boulders,  and  I  could  look  up 
steadily,  with  no  mist  in  the  eyes,  except  what  the 
wonder  of  the  picture  stimulated.  The  wall  is  here 
about  a  thousand  feet  high.  It  sags  in  the  centre, 
and  there,  eight  hundred  feet  over  my  head,  was 
the  curve  of  the  cataract,  as  it  pours  from  the  level 
stream  for  its  unbroken  descent  of  a  sixth  of  a  mile. 
Not  a  single  projection  from  the  wall,  or  bulge  in 
it,  is  there  to  fret  or  mar  the  majesty  and  freedom 
of  the  current.  It  was  probably  fifteen  feet  wide 
where  it  started  in  its  descent.  It  kept  its  curve 
and  a  concentrated  life  for  some  300  feet;  and  then 
gravitation  got  hold  of  it,  shook  it  apart,  and  made 
it  tumble  through  the  air  for  five  hundred  feet 
more,  scattering  millions  of  pearls,  and  whole  sheets 
of  filmy  mist,  to  be  smitten  with  splendor  by  the 
sun. 

"This  cascade  is  called  'The  Bridal  Veil.'  A 
worse  name  might  be  given  it,  but  it  seems  to  be 
pleading  with  us  that  'Bridal  Veil'  folly  might  be 
thrown  aside,  and  that  it  might  be  known  forever 
by  its  Indian  baptism  'Pohono.'  Thus  before  we 
had  been  in  the  Valley  twenty  minutes  we  were  at 
the  foot  of  a  fall  as  high  and  more  beautiful  than 
the  celebrated  Staubbach,  the  highest  in  Europe. 

"Still  we  have  five  miles  of  horseback  riding  to 
the  hotel.  Is  there  such  a  ride  possible  in  any  other 
part  of  the  planet?  Nowhere  among  the  Alps,  and 
in  no  canon  of  the  mighty  Oregon  range,  is  there 
such  stupendous  rock-scenery  as  the  traveller  here 
lifts  his  eyes  to.     The  Sierra  Nevada  has  very  few 

[143] 


THOMAS  STARR  KING 

peaks  which  make  the  impression  which  fourteen 
thousand  feet  of  height  ought  to  leave  on  the  mind. 
But  it  may  challenge  any  portion  of  the  globe,  ex- 
cept the  awful  gorges  of  the  Himalaya  through 
which  the  gloomy  Sutlej  pours,  to  rival  the  savage- 
ness  and  sublimity  of  these  bluffs  and  spires.  The 
Saguenay  river  shores  are  the  best  suggestion  of  the 
rocky  sides  of  the  Yosemite  valley;  but  their  grand- 
est headlands  are  not  half  so  high  as  portions  of  these 
battlements. 

"After  leaving  the  nook  in  which  the  Pohono 
tumbles,  we  found  ourselves  soon  under  a  cliff  twice 
as  high.  We  were  obliged  to  turn  our  heads  back 
to  see  its  crest,  two  thousand  feet  of  sheer  height 
above  us.  The  first  view  was  so  terrible  that  I  sup- 
posed this  must  be  the  most  striking  scenery  in  all 
the  valley,  and  I  was  greatly  astonished  to  learn  the 
absolute  measurement  of  the  precipice.  Opposite 
this  clifif,  on  the  left  or  northerly  bank  of  the  river, 
stood  the  sublime  rock  'El  Capitan,'  or  the  'The 
Chieftain.'  This  wonderful  piece  of  natural 
masonry  stands  at  an  angle  with  the  valley,  present- 
ing a  sharp  edge  and  two  sides  in  one  view,  and 
how  high?  3817  feet!  It  stands  straight.  There 
is  no  lazy  curve-line,  as  in  the  sides  of  the  White 
Mountain  Notch.  In  fact,  the  monstrous  mass 
beetles  a  little.  You  can  stand  on  the  summit  and 
drop  a  plumb  line  to  the  base.  I  called  it  just  now 
a  piece  of  natural  masonry;  but  the  word  is  inac- 
curate. The  immense  escarpment  has  no  crack  or 
mark  of  stratification.  It  is  one  block  of  naked 
granite  pushed  up  from  below.  On  one  face  the 
wall  is  weather-stained,  or  lichen-stained  with  rich 
cream  colored  patches,  on  the  other  side  it  is  ashy 
grey.     A  more  majestic  object  than  this  rock  I  ex- 

[144] 


A  EULOGIST  OF  CALIFORNIA  SCENERY 

pect  never  to  see  on  this  planet.     Great  is  granite, 
and  the  Yosemite  is  its  prophet! 

"On  the  right  bank  of  the  river,  further  on,  we 
find  another  portion  of  the  v^all  over  our  heads  on 
the  right  hand  from  which  two  immense  obelisks 
are  upreared.     They  are  called  'The  Sisters.'     Bah! 
These  'Sisters'  look  down  upon  you  from  an  altitude 
of  3500  feet,  and  occasionally  send  their  respects  ta 
the  meadow  in  a  flake  or  two  of  a  thousand  tons, 
dropping  perpendicularly  more  than  half  a  mile. 
Another  mile  and  we  are  under  the  shadow  of  'The 
Sentinel.'     Look    up    at    that    'pinnacled    silence' t 
There  is  a  height  greater  than  the  twin  obelisks  we 
last  left,  and  even  overlooking  by  500  feet  the  wall 
El    Capitan    on    the    opposite    bank    below.     How 
charmingly  the  frosts  have  gnawed  and  ravaged  its 
upper  edges!     We  ride  close  to  the  base,  hold  our 
heads  back,  and  gaze  long  at  the  delicate  points  and 
lines  of  those  splinters  in  the  zenith.     The  highest 
of  these  needles  is  4347  feet  over  our  heads.     Reader, 
do  you  appreciate  that  height?     Probably  you  have 
been  in  'The  Glen'  among  the  White  Mountains, 
and  you  remember  the  sharp  peak  of  Mt.  Adams, 
whose   pyramid   is   so  symmetrical,   seen   from   the 
porch   of   the   Glen   House.     Imagine   Mt.   Adams 
cloven  by  Omnipotence  midway  from  its  apex  to  its 
lowest  stone,  so  that  you  could  ride  on  horseback 
within  a  few  rods  of  the  smooth  wall,  and  look  up 
from  plinth  to  crown!     But  that  summit  is  not  quite 
4300  feet  above  the  glen;  and  you  can  now  judge 
what  it  is  to  turn  your  eyes  to  the  dim  turrets  of 
'The  Sentinel'  in  Yosemite! 

"The  wall  opposite  the  Sentinel  has  a  height  at 
one  point  of  4480  feet.  The  valley  here  is  about  a 
mile  wide.     If  its  two  sides  could  be  pried  from 

[145] 


THOMAS  STARR  KING 

their  foundations  and  tipped  towards  each  other, 
they  could  not  fall.  They  would  meet  and  support 
each  other  and  convert  the  valley  into  a  mighty  cave, 
with  a  roofing  more  than  three-quarters  of  a  mile 
high.  In  fact,  early  in  the  summer  afternoon,  the 
opposite  wall  is  in  gloom,  and  throws  its  immense 
shadow  athwart  the  meadows  beneath,  robbing  them 
of  four  hours  of  sunshine  which  the  fields  under  the 
Sentinel  enjoy.  These  shadows  engage  our  atten- 
tion, with  the  continuous  line  of  rampart  under  which 
we  ride  still  three  miles  before  reaching  our  goal. 
And  the  hotel  is  not  the  end  of  the  valley,  or  of  its 
wonders.  Still  beyond  as  we  catch  sight  of  it  are  two 
immense  domes  of  bare  and  glistening  granite. 
How  high  are  they?  What  is  the  measure  of  that 
southerly  one  which  the  declining  sun  is  sheathing 
with  impalpable  gold?  If  it  were  23  feet  higher 
it  would  be  5000  feet.  As  it  stands  it  is  300  feet 
taller  than  Mt.  Washington  in  the  White  Hills  from 
the  points  nearest  its  base,  while  the  side  of  St.  Peter's 
is  not  more  perpendicular  than  the  wall  which  it 
crowns. 

"But  as  we  approach  the  hotel  and  turn  towards 
the  opposite  bank  of  the  river,  what  is  that 

'Which  ever  sounds  and  shines 
A  pillar  of  white  light  upon  the  wall 
Of  purple  cliffs  aloof  descried?' 

That  is  the  highest  waterfall  in  the  world,  the  Yo- 
semite  cataract,  2500  feet  in  its  plunge,  dashing 
from  a  break  or  depression  in  a  cliff  3200  feet  sheer! 
Mr.  Greeley  in  his  account  of  his  very  hurried  visit 
to  the  valley  a  year  ago  (in  September,  1859),  calls 
it  a  mere  tape-line  of  water  dropped  from  the  sky. 
Perhaps  it  is  so  toward  the  close  of  the  dry  season, 

[.46] 


A  EULOGIST  OF  CALIFORNIA  SCENERY 

but  as  we  saw  it,  the  blended  majesty  and  beauty 
of  it,  apart  from  the  general  sublimities  of  the  Yo- 
semite  gorge,  would  repay  a  journey  of  a  thousand 
miles.  There  was  no  deficiency  of  water.  It  was 
a  powerful  stream  35  feet  broad,  fresh  from  the 
Nevada,  that  made  the  plunge  from  the  brow  of  the 
awful  precipice;  and  our  resting  place  on  the  south- 
erly bank  of  the  Merced,  in  the  pass,  afforded  us  a 
most  favorable  angle  for  enjoying  its  exhaustless 
charm. 

'Like  sheet-lightning. 
Ever  brightening. 
With  a  low  melodious  thunder. 
All  day  and  all  night  it  is  ever  drawn 
From  the  brain  of  the  purple  mountain, 
Which  stands  in  the  distance  yonder.' 

"The  thunder,  however,  though  certainly  melodi- 
ous, is  by  no  means  low,  as  may  be  imagined  when 
the  measure  of  the  fall  is  reported.  At  the  first 
leap  it  clears  1497  feet;  then  it  tumbles  down  a  series 
of  steep  stairways  402  feet,  and  then  makes  a  jump 
to  the  meadows  518  feet  more.  The  three  pitches 
are  in  full  view,  making  a  fall  of  more  than  2400 
feet. 

"But  it  is  the  upper  and  highest  cataract  that  is  the 
most  wonderful  to  the  eye,  as  well  as  most  musical. 
The  cliff  is  so  sheer  that  there  is  no  break  in  the  body 
of  water  during  the  whole  of  its  descent  of  more  than 
a  quarter  of  a  mile.  It  pours  in  a  curve  from  the 
summit,  fifteen  hundred  feet  to  the  basin  that  hoards 
it  but  for  a  moment  for  the  cascades  that  follow. 
And  what  endless  complexities  and  opulence  of 
beauty  in  the  forms  and  motions  of  the  cataract! 
Comparatively  narrow  at  the  top  of  the  precipice,  it 

[147] 


THOMAS  STARR  KING 

widens  as  it  descends,  and  curves  a  little  on  one  side 
as  it  widens,  so  that  it  shapes  itself,  before  it  reaches 
its  first  bowl  of  granite,  to  the  figure  of  the  comet 
that  glowed  in  our  skies  two  years  ago.  More  beau- 
tiful than  the  comet,  however,  we  can  see  the  sub- 
stance of  this  watery  loveliness  ever  renew  itself,  and 
ever  pour  itself  away.  Our  readers  have  seen  the 
splendid  rockets  that  on  Fourth  of  July  nights  burst 
into  serpents  of  fire.  This  cataract  seems  to  shoot 
out  a  thousand  serpentine  heads  or  knots  of  water 
which  wriggle  down  deliberately  through  the  air, 
and  expend  themselves  in  mist  before  half  the  de- 
scent is  over.  Then  a  new  set  bursts  from  the  body 
and  sides  of  the  fall,  with  the  same  fortune,  and  thus 
the  most  charming  fret-work  of  watery  nodules,  each 
trailing  its  vapory  train  for  a  hundred  feet,  or  more, 
is  woven  all  over  the  cascade,  which  swings,  now  and 
then,  thirty  feet  each  way  on  the  mountain  side,  as 
if  it  were  a  pendulum  of  watery  lace.  Once  in  a 
while,  too,  the  wind  manages  to  get  back  of  the  fall, 
between  it  and  the  clifif,  and  then  it  will  whirl  it 
round  and  round  for  two  or  three  hundred  feet,  as  if 
it  were  determined  to  wring  it  dry.  We  could  lie 
for  hours,  never  tired  of  gazing  at  this  cataract,  but 
ever  hungry  for  more  of  the  witcheries  of  motion 
and  grace  that  refine  and  soften  its  grandeur." 

It  should  be  borne  in  mind  in  reading  these  descrip- 
tions of  California  scenery  by  Starr  King  that  they 
were  not  the  deliberate,  carefully  worded  studies  of 
a  nature-writer,  but  the  hastily  recorded  impressions 
of  a  vacation  tourist. 

The  series  ends  with  a  vivid  description  of  Mr. 
King's  exploration  of  the  upper  ravines  of  the  Yo- 

[148] 


A  EULOGIST  OF  CALIFORNIA  SCENERY 

Semite  Valley,  not  then  as  accessible  as  now.  The 
South  Dome,  Royal  Arches,  Mirror  Lake,  and  other 
scenic  features  receive  due  mention.  Thence  he 
"climbed  above  the  Vernal  Fall,  where  the  Merced 
River  pours  from  a  perpendicular  granite  rampart 
500  feet;  and  back  of  this,  half  a  mile  distant,  just 
under  an  obelisk  2,000  feet  sheer,  the  river  plunges 
900  feet,  which  is  called  the  Nevada  Fall.  And  the 
walls  that  enclose  this  water-magnificence  are  more 
grand  than  the  White  Mountain  Notch." 

Above  the  Nevada  Fall  he  climbed  1500  feet  again 
"to  see  the  snow-streaked  turrets  of  the  great  Sierras. 
Two  of  the  peaks  visible  there,  and  quite  near,  are 
13,600  feet."  One  of  them — a  noble  monument  to 
this  lover  of  nature  and  eloquent  eulogist  of  mountain 
scenery — is  now  named  Mount  Starr  King. 


[149] 


PART  II 
ORATOR  AND  PATRIOT 


CHAPTER  I 

PATRIOTIC  ACTIVITIES 

MR.  KING  was  so  engrossed  in  parish  duties 
and  literary  and  social  activities,  and  he 
was  now  so  far  removed  from  the  centres 
of  National  thought  and  life,  that  the  important  po- 
litical events  of  i860  had  passed  unchallenged,  if  not 
unnoticed  by  him. 

The  lack  of  telegraphic  communication  prevented 
the  closer  acquaintance  of  California  with  the  strug- 
gle that  was  raging  in  the  East.  "Is  Lincoln 
elected?"  Mr.  King  asks  in  a  letter  to  a  friend,  dated 
November  7,  i860.  "  We  are  so  far  out  of  the  way 
that  we  cannot  find  out."  But  he  adds :  "Our  State 
has  done  well.     Lincoln  leads,  as  far  as  heard  from." 

Again  in  January  31,  1 861,  he  writes:  "California 
is  but  slightly  affected  as  yet  by  the  political  panic. 
We  shall  adhere  to  the  Northern  Confederacy.  May 
wisdom  and  grace  avert  bloodshed  and  save  us  from 
disgraceful  concessions,  and  restore  good  sense  and 
manliness  to  the  frightened  and  demented  South!" 

But  finally  the  reverberations  of  the  approaching 
storm  were  heard  more  and  more  loudly  in  Cali- 
fornia, and  the  war  clouds  of  1861  drifted  slowly  over 
to  the  Pacific  Coast.     It  was  a  time  of  great  anxiety 

[153] 


THOMAS  STARR  KING 

for  the  loyal  element  in  its  population.  Although 
numerically  superior  the  Union  men  in  California 
were  at  a  disadvantage  because  the  Federal  and  State 
officers,  the  military  commands,  the  newspapers  and 
social  influences  were  in  the  hands  of  open  or  covert 
sympathizers  with  the  Secession  movement. 

At  the  outbreak  of  the  Civil  War  40  per  cent  of 
the  people  of  California  were  of  Southern  birth, 
while  many  of  the  Northern  born  were  politically  of 
their  way  of  thinking.  For  ten  years  past  this  ele- 
ment had  been  in  control  of  the  State  as  well  as  of  the 
National  government.  Of  53  newspapers  published 
in  California  only  7  advocated  the  election  of  Abra- 
ham Lincoln,  and  he  received  only  28  per  cent  of  its 
electoral  vote.  The  Governor,  Legislature  and 
Courts,  the  United  States  Senators  and  Congressmen 
from  California,  were  all  safely  Democratic  and 
Southern  in  their  sentiments.  General  Albert  Sid- 
ney Johnston,  a  well  known  sympathizer  with  the 
Rebellion,  and  subsequently  a  brilliant  Confederate 
soldier,  was  in  command  of  the  Federal  forces  in  San 
Francisco.^ 

The  danger  to  be  apprehended  was  the  uprising  of 
this  Southern  element  which  was  known  to  be  well 
organized,  armed  and  desperate.  A  secret  military 
order,  the  Knights  of  the  Golden  Circle,  had  enrolled 
somei  16,000  sympathizers  with  Secession.  Joined, 
as  they  would  have  been,  by  the  discontented  and  law- 
less, civil  war  would  have  ensued  and  an  attempt 

^  "Starr  King  in  California,"  by  William  Day  Simonds.     Part  II. 

[154] 


PATRIOTIC  ACTIVITIES 

been  made  to  carry  California  out  of  the  Union. 
Still  others  dreamed  of,  or  openly  advocated,  an  in- 
dependent Pacific  Republic,  which,  if  consummated, 
would  have  been  equally  disastrous  to  the  National 
idea. 

There  was  imminent  need  to  arouse  the  loyal  ele- 
ments in  the  population  of  California  to  a  sense  of 
their  danger;  to  acquaint  them  with  the  folly  and 
wickedness  of  these  designs  against  their  internal 
peace  and  the  paramount  authority  of  the  National 
Government;  to  proclaim  in  intelligible  terms  the 
fundamental  principles  of  the  Republic,  and  to  re- 
call the  great  events  in  its  history  which  confirmed 
them.  The  Union  men  needed  a  leader,  the  Union 
cause  a  champion  to  plead  for  it,  to  strengthen  the 
timorous  and  vacillating,  denounce  treason  and  im- 
part confidence  in  the  administration  at  Washington. 
In  a  community  in  which  "the  love  of  oratory 
amounted  to  a  passion,"  an  eloquent  voice  was  needed 
to  inspire  the  people  of  the  State,  its  farmers,  traders, 
miners  and  stock-raisers,  with  the  consciousness  of 
patriotic  duty,  and  thus  prepare  the  way  for  an  or- 
ganization of  the  Union  sentiment.  Their  brave  and 
able  leader,  David  C.  Broderick,  who  a  few  years  be- 
fore had  inaugurated  the  struggle  against  Southern 
arrogance  and  its  aggressive  endeavors  in  behalf  of 
the  extension  of  slavery,  had  fallen  a  lamented  victim 
to  it.  Still  another  fearless  and  eloquent  spokesman 
for  the  Union,  Col.  E.  D.  Baker,  had  removed  to 
Oregon,  had  been  elected  United  States  Senator,  and 

[155] 


THOMAS  STARR  KING 

enlisting  in  the  Union  Army  soon  after  met  a  hero's 
death  in  the  engagement  at  Ball's  Bluff. 

The  one  man  on  the  Pacific  Coast  whose  oratorical 
talents,  exalted  character,  early  training  and  assured 
political  principles  fitted  him  for  this  eminent  serv- 
ice was  Thomas  Starr  King.  It  found  him  ready  and 
prepared  for  the  task.  Brought  up  under  the  very 
shadow  of  Bunker  Hill  he  was  unusually  informed 
in  the  history  of  his  country  and  the  principles  which 
underlie  it.  As  early  as  1847,  by  invitation  of  the 
city  authorities  in  Charlestown,  he  had  delivered  an 
address  on  the  anniversary  of  that  early  struggle  of 
the  American  Revolution,  in  which  he  acutely  an- 
alyzed its  motive  and  aim, — civil,  personal  and  re- 
ligious freedom,  limited  only  by  the  law  of  right. 
Again  in  1852  he  was  the  orator  at  the  Fourth  of  July 
celebration  of  the  municipality  of  Boston,  choosing 
for  his  topic,  "The  Organization  of  Liberty  on  this 
Continent." 

It  was  in  February,  i86r,  though  he  was  as  yet  un- 
conscious of  the  great  mission  to  which  he  was  being 
called,  that  Starr  King  fired  the  opening  gun  of  his 
oratorical  campaign  by  giving  at  a  patriotic  rally 
in  San  Francisco  an  address  on  "Washington  and  the 
Union."  In  the  month  following  Starr  King  de- 
livered one  of  the  most  powerful  and  popular  of  his 
addresses,  "Webster  and  the  Constitution."  A  few 
weeks  later  he  spoke  to  another  great  audience  on 
"Lexington  and  the  New  Struggle  for  Liberty." 
Later  themes  of  his  patriotic  appeal  were  "The  Great 

[156] 


PATRIOTIC  ACTIVITIES 

Uprising"  and  "The  New  Nation  to  Issue  from  the 
War."  These  addresses,  repeated  all  over  the  State, 
created  a  great  sensation  and  were  listened  to  by 
large  and  delighted  audiences. 

"I  have  been  lecturing  on  'The  New  Nation  to 
Issue  from  the  War,'  "  writes  Mr.  King.  ''I  gave  it 
on  June  17th  before  a  military  company  here  and 
shall  have  to  repeat  it,  though  the  house  was  filled. 
The  country  districts  clamor  for  it." 

It  may  be  permitted  the  present  writer  to  say  that 
this  address  was  prepared  at  his  solicitation,  and  dur- 
ing its  impressive  delivery  the  military  company, 
the  "Sumner  Light  Guard,"  of  which  he  was  a  mem- 
ber, sat  on  the  platform  in  a  half-circle  around 
the  speaker,  clad  in  the  Confederate  grey,  which 
the  State  authorities — Southern  sympathizers — had 
forced  the  California  militia  to  wear,  but  which  was 
to  be  exchanged,  by  means  of  the  proceeds  of  this 
lecture,  for  uniforms  of  true  Union  blue. 

Writing  to  a  friend  at  the  East,  Rev.  Thomas  B. 
Fox,  in  the  summer  of  1861,  Starr  King  informs  him: 

"We  are  boiling  over  with  all  sorts  of  agitation 
here.  The  Secessionists  have  taken  great  heart  since 
Manassas  Junction.  There  are  three  tickets  for 
Governor  and  Congressman  in  the  field,  Secession- 
Democratic,  Union-Democratic,  and  True-Blue  Re- 
publican. The  Secessionists  are  all  of  a  sudden 
peace  men,  and  flood  the  State  with  documents  on 
the  cost  of  the  war,  its  horrors,  and  the  propriety  of 
stopping  the  fight  and  recognizing  Jeff  Davis.     Ow- 

[157] 


THOMAS  STARR  KING 

ing  to  the  division  of  the  Union  strength  there  begin 
to  be  fears  that  the  Secessionists  may  get  a  plurality, 
and  so  we  are  arming,  drilling  and  spouting. 
Among  other  forces  to  save  the  State  I  have  taken 
to  lecturing  again — an  hour  and  a  half  on  'The  Con- 
federate States,  Old  and  New.'  Last  night,  I  spoke 
on  'Peace,  and  What  It  Would  Cost  Us,'  for  the  bene- 
fit of  the  New  York  and  Massachusetts  Volunteers. 
House  packed.  Enthusiasm  tremendous.  Profits 
for  the  fund  $1500.  Speech  printed  before  daylight 
this  morning,  and  now  flying  over  the  State  by  thou- 
sands. I  am  to  give  another  lecture  for  the  same 
fund  in  two  weeks." 

Other  letters  from  this  period  give  interesting  dis- 
closures of  the  manifoldness  of  Mr.  King's  activities 
in  behalf  of  the  Union  cause. 

"San  Francisco,  August  30th,  i860. 
"We  had  a  meeting  in  our  church  of  New  York 
men  for  the  relief  of  their  destitute  in  that  State,  and 
subscribed  $2200  on  the  spot.  We  mean  to  raise 
thousands  in  the  city  and  State.  If  we  beat  the  Seces- 
sionists next  Wednesday,  Sept.  4th,  at  the  polls,  so 
that  in  spite  of  our  Union  split  they  can't  get  a  plu- 
rality, we  are  safe.  If  they  win,  we  must  arm  and 
prepare  to  drive  the  rebel  Governor  where  Claiborn 
Jackson  went.  Perhaps  you  will  get  news  of  the 
election  as  soon  as  you  get  this  note." 

To  Randolph  Ryer: 

"February  20th,  1861. 
"I  am  in  the  agony  of  writing  my  long  oration  on 
Washington  for  the  22nd.  .  .  .  Quite  an  incident  has 

[158] 


PATRIOTIC  ACTIVITIES 

occurred  here  in  an  orthodox  prayer  meeting.  A 
man  got  up  and  announced  that  he  was  called  by  the 
Almighty  to  rid  the  city  of  that  enemy  of  Christ, 
Thomas  Starr  King,  and  that  he  intended  to  slay 
him  as  soon  as  a  good  opportunity  offered,  etc.,  etc. 
The  prayer  meeting  broke  up ;  but  nothing  was  done 
to  arrest  the  man.  The  chairman  of  our  church  com- 
mittee the  next  day  made  an  affidavit  against  him, 
he  was  arrested  and  examined,  seemed  quite  gentle 
and  utterly  harmless  on  all  other  questions,  but  per- 
sisted that  he  was  called  of  the  Lord  to  plunge  a 
dagger  in  my  heart,  and  that  he  would,  if  he  were 
to  be  hanged  or  burned  the  next  minute. 

"So  he  was  sent  to  the  Insane  Asylum  in  Stock- 
ton, and  'I  still  live.'  Poor  fellow!  I  don't  believe 
he  would  have  lifted  a  finger  upon  me,  because  he 
talked  so  violently.  If  he  had  been  really  danger- 
ous, he  would  have  done  something  before  talking. 

To  Randolph  Ryer: 

"February  24,  1861. 

"I  must  write  you  a  word  or  two  of  the  lecture 
on  Washington  night  before  last.  All  day  on  the 
22nd  was  glorious  here,  the  city  was  excited  on  the 
Dis-Union  question,  and  mass  meetings  were  held  at 
several  points  in  streets  and  squares.  It  was  a  great 
and  serious  holiday. 

"In  the  evening  the  lecture  was  to  come  of?  at  7:30. 
Tickets  a  dollar  each.  The  house  would  comfort- 
ably seat  a  thousand.  No  tickets  were  given  away 
even  to  the  press.  But  there  was  a  press  there,  I 
can  tell  you.  Every  place  where  a  seat  could  be 
stowed  was  taken.  They  had  to  turn  away  people 
by  the  hundred  who  came.  The  dignitaries  were  on 
the  stage.     I  laid  my  manuscript  on  a  small  stand 

[159] 


THOMAS  STARR  KING 

covered  with  the  American  flag.  The  aristocracy 
were  on  hand,  lots  of  them  from  the  South. 

"The  lecture  was  two  hours  and  a  quarter  long — 
and  such  a  time!  Such  stillness,  and  then  such 
laughter!  Such  applause  and  then  such  ominous 
quiet  when  I  gave  them  a  'free  soil'  touch! 

"Mrs.  Fremont  was  out  and  told  me  she  hadn't 
been  so  stirred  in  years.  ...  A  son  of  old  Vander- 
bilt,  a  Lieutenant  in  the  Army,  stayed  to  be  intro- 
duced and  tell  me  his  joy  (wasn't  that  a  triumph!). 
I  pitched  into  Secession,  Concession,  and  Calhoun, 
right  and  left,  and  made  Southerners  applaud.  I 
pledged  California  to  a  Northern  Republic  and  to 
'a  flag  that  should  have  no  treacherous  threads  of 
cotton  in  its  warp,'  and  the  audience  came  down  with 
thunder.  At  the  close  it  was  announced  that  I  would 
repeat  it  the  next  night,  and  they  gave  three  rounds 
of  cheers. 

"But  alas,  yesterday  I  was  very  hoarse,  and  the 
repetition  is  postponed  till  the  4th  of  March!  I 
copyrighted  the  address,  to  save  it  from  the  piracy 
of  stenographers,  and  am  urged  to  give  it  all  over 
the  State,  and  help  kill  the  Pacific-Republic  folly. 
It  was  the  occasion,  thus  far,  of  my  existence." 

The  San  Francisco  Bulletin  reported  next  day: 
"The  lucky  ones  who  gained  entrance,  heard  a  mag- 
nificent lecture  two  and  a  quarter  hours  long,  spark- 
ling in  every  sentence,  pithy,  eloquent  and  pertinent. 
The  delighted  audience  applauded  to  the  echo." 

Mr.  King's  younger  brother,  Edward,  was  a 
mariner,  a  man  of  sturdy  build  and  modesty  of  na- 
ture, who  used  to  say:     "Starr  has  the  brains  of  the 

[160] 


PATRIOTIC  ACTIVITIES 

family,  and  I  the  brawn."  Two  days  after  Starr 
King's  epoch-making  oration  on  Washington,  he 
sailed  into  the  harbor  of  San  Francisco  in  his  ship, 
the  Syren,  and  the  two  brothers — sky-pilot  and  sea- 
captain — met.  Poetic  justice  should  have  permitted 
the  sea-farer  to  be  in  command  of  the  handsome  clip- 
per ship,  the  Starr  King,  so  named  by  its  builder  and 
owner  in  Eastern  Massachusetts,  an  admirer  of  our 
hero. 

We  continue  our  excerpts  from  Mr.  King's  letters 
at  this  crucial  moment  of  his  public  career,  remind- 
ing the  reader  that  they  were  written  in  confidence 
to  a  friend,  and  not  intended  for  publication. 

"San  Francisco,  March  loth,  1861. 

"I  have  given  my  'Washington  and  the  Union' 
lecture  the  second  time  in  this  city.  House  jammed 
and  hundreds  turned  away.  I  am  to  give  it  still 
again  for  the  Masonic  Relief  Fund.  A  week  from 
to-night  I  am  to  lecture  on  'Webster  and  the  Consti- 
tution' before  our  Mercantile  Library  Association. 
I  shall  write  the  lecture  this  week. 

"I  have  also  given  the  Washington  lecture  in 
Marysville  and  Stockton,  the  headquarters  of  'the 
Chivalry,'  to  very  large  audiences.  In  Stockton  a 
dozen  or  less  Southerners  hissed.  I  gave  them 
cracks  in  return,  and  the  house  cheered  and  ap- 
plauded like  a  thunder-cloud.  It  was  a  great  time. 
The  Stockton  people  had  blistered  hands  next  day." 

"San  Francisco,  March  20th,  1861. 
"Last  night  I  lectured  two  hours  on  'Webster  and 
the  Constitution.'     House  filled  with  1500  people  at 

[>6i] 


THOMAS  STARR  KING 

a  dollar  a  ticket.  And  they  want  it  repeated.  I 
didn't  dwell  on  his  7th  of  March  speech  and  the 
compromise  of  1850.  We  are  getting  California 
safe  out  of  the  Southern  hands. 

"I  am  to  give  'Washington'  still  a  third  time  in 
this  city,  before  the  Masons,  and  also  an  oration 
April  19th  before  the  military  of  the  city  on  the 
'Battle  of  Lexington.'  " 

In  October,  1861,  he  writes  an  Eastern  friend: 

"This  Sunday  afternoon  I  preached  to  a  regiment 
of  Cavalry  here.  It  was  a  grand  sight — a  thousand 
men  in  a  solid  square,  under  a  cheerful  California 
sky,  listening  to  talk  on  the  country,  religion,  etc. 
We  have  the  telegraph  now.  I  sent  you  a  message  as 
soon  as  it  opened  its  batteries,  which  I  hope  was  re- 
ceived. The  women  of  our  parish  have  equipped 
2750  soldiers  with  towels,  handkerchiefs,  stockings  in 
part,  and  kits  containing  comb,  needles,  thread, 
thimble,  etc.  The  way  the  sewing  machines  ran  and 
raced  in  our  church  for  a  month! 

"I  have  preached  to  soldiers  in  camp  and  am  now 
engaged  in  furnishing  literature  for  them.  But  as 
to  lecturing  and  organizing  for  the  Union,  there  is  a 
lull.  In  order  to  keep  my  hand  in,  I  preached  last 
Sunday  twice  on  the  telegrfiph.  The  first  click  of 
the  telegraph  brought  in  the  n«ws  of  Gen.  Baker's 
death.  He  was  a  great  favorite  in  California  and 
the  tidings  dashed  our  joy  materially." 

"November  ist,  1861. 
"Our  hundred  men  for  the  Boston  Cavalry  Bat- 
talion go  by  this  steamer.     They  are  splendid,  per- 
fect fellows.     I  hope  you  will  see  them  and  speak 
with  the  Captain,  who  is  a  friend  of  mine.     I  have 

[162] 


PATRIOTIC  ACTIVITIES 

lectured,  preached,  prayed  and  talked  for  this  com- 
pany. They  are  my  pets.  ...  I  am  nearly  used  up 
in  strength,  though." 

In  the  latter  part  of  1861,  a  group  of  American 
residents  of  Victoria,  B.  C,  sent  Mr.  King  a  draft 
for  one  thousand  dollars  "in  aid  of  the  cause  of 
American  Union,"  together  with  a  vigorous  resolu- 
tion supporting  the  cause  of  the  Federal  Govern- 
ment. It  was  a  significant  act  since  at  that  very 
moment  there  were  ominous  threatenings  that  the 
British  Government  would  espouse  the  cause  of  the 
seceding  states,  in  which  case  a  war  with  Great 
Britain  would  have  been  inevitable.  Starr  King  made 
effective  use  of  this  incident  at  a  public  meeting 
held  on  Sunday  evening,  November  24th,  in  San 
Francisco  to  encourage  subscriptions  to  the  National 
Loan.  Addressing  an  audience  of  three  thousand, 
he  read  to  them  the  letter  of  the  loyal  American 
colony  in  Victoria,  and  by  his  eloquent  comments 
upon  it  awoke  his  hearers  to  enthusiastic  applause 
and  practical  demonstration  of  their  equal  patriotism. 
In  his  reply  to  the  donors  Mr.  King  wrote : 

''Let  us  hope  that  this  contribution  from  Victoria 
is  an  auspicious  omen  that  there  is  to  be  no  disrup- 
tion of  our  peaceful  bonds  with  England,  and  that  no 
embarrassing  obstacle  to  the  triumph  of  law,  liberty 
and  Saxon  civilization  throughout  our  Republic  is  to 
be  cast  in  our  way  by  the  Cabinet  of  Queen  Victoria, 
which  holds  now  the  great  trusts  of  British  power 
and  honor.  A  rebellion,  for  the  sake  of  supporting 
slavery  and  of  making  the  world  tributary  to  its  in- 

[163] 


THOMAS  STARR  KING 

terest,  is  not  a  cause  to  which  the  sympathies  of  Eng- 
land naturally  belong.  The  Stars  and  Stripes  rep- 
resent the  principles  and  hopes  which  make  Eng- 
lish history  illustrious;  and  the  American  Govern- 
ment is  to-day  defending  against  traitors  the  seed- 
truths  and  the  sacred  customs  which  America  re- 
ceived as  an  inheritance  from  English  liberty,  estab- 
lished, let  us  remember,  through  years  of  Civil  War. 
No  calamity  could  be  greater  now  to  the  cause  of 
civilization  and  freedom  than  a  war  with  Great 
Britain,  and  her  open  aid  of  the  rebel  cause  of  the 
South.  Let  us  aid,  so  far  as  we  can,  the  cultivation 
of  a  good  understanding  and  of  a  generous  fellow- 
ship. Let  us  labor  and  pray  that  a  spectacle  so  un- 
natural and  an  alliance  so  unholy  as  that  just  alluded 
to  may  not  be  seen  in  the  high  noon  of  this  Christian 
century." 

This  letter  of  Starr  King,  widely  printed  and  read 
in  the  journals  not  only  of  the  Pacific  Slope  but  of 
the  East,  aided  in  the  peaceful  solution  of  the  diffi- 
culties between  the  two  nations. 

The  gift  of  the  Victoria  Americans  was  turned  over 
to  the  United  States  Sanitary  Commission. 

Writing  under  date  of  October  14,  1862,  Starr 
King  tells  the  readers  of  the  Boston  Evening  Tran- 
script the  cheering  story  of  the  United  States  Sani- 
tary Commission  in  California,  of  which,  as  its  presi- 
dent Dr.  Bellows  said,  he  was  the  eloquent  voice,  the 
quickening  soul.  In  this  connection  he  sends  for 
publication  a  poem,  "Our  Privilege,"  written  in  sup- 
port of   the  Fund   bv  ''a  friend,   Mr.   Frank   Bret 

■  [164] 


PATRIOTIC  ACTIVITIES 

Harte"  (the  Transcript  spells  it  Haste)  ''who  will 
yet  be  known  more  widely  in  our  literature."  At  a 
previous  mass  meeting  in  San  Francisco  Mr.  King 
had  introduced  Mr.  Harte,  who  read  a  patriotic 
poem,  "The  Reveille."  It  was  largely  through  Mr. 
King's  influence  that  the  nascent  poet  and  romancer 
obtained  the  position  as  secretary  of  the  Superin- 
tendent of  the  United  States  Mint  in  San  Francisco 
which  gave  him  the  assured  income  and  comparative 
leisure  essential  to  the  development  of  his  literary 
talents. 

In  April,  1862,  Mr.  King  writes  happily  to  his 
friend  Ryer:  "  'Unto  us  a  child  is  born,  unto  us  a 
son  is  given.'  The  little  emigrant  stepped  on  the 
shores  of  time  at  5  A.  M.  April  4th.  He  didn't  bring 
much  with  him  but  a  capital  head  and  a  handsome 
face — like  his  mother.  But  he  has  my  nose.  What 
shall  we  call  the  boy?  Can  you  suggest  a  name? 
Don't  say  Thomas  Starr,  Jr.  That  can't  be.  No  sir ! 
I  told  the  boy  so  plainly  the  first  day  of  his  existence. 
We  had  a  fair  understanding.  He  begged,  and 
pleaded,  and  urged  and  implored,  but  it  was  of  no 
use.  He  even  shook  his  fist  at  me,  as  if  demanding 
that  it  should  be  T.  Starr  the  less.  But  I  put  my 
foot  down.  He  sobbed  and  kicked  but  finally  sub- 
sided into  acquiescence."  His  friend  Randolph  Ryer 
had  named  his  first-born  son  Starr,  in  memory  of 
their  friendship.  Starr  announces,  in  retaliation: 
"Next  Sunday  the  baby  will  be  baptized  in  church. 
The  name  is  to  be  Frederick  Randolph.     The  Fred- 

[165] 


THOMAS  STARR  KING 

erick  is  for  Dr.  Hedge.  The  Randolph  is  for  you. 
Really  you  would  be  proud  of  your  namesake  if  you 
could  see  him." 

To  Randolph  Ryer: 

"San  Francisco,  January  lo,  1862. 

"We  are  all  pretty  well.  My  wife  is  able  to  walk 
again,  and  is  only  homesick.  [Mrs.  King  had  been 
struck  on  the  knee  by  a  loose  plank  in  the  decrepit 
board  sidewalks  of  the  city,  and  for  a  year  suf- 
fered much  pain  and  disability.]  Edith  is  bright 
as  a  nest  of  larks.  She  is  studying  French,  Latin, 
and  Music,  and  is  sound  on  the  red,  white  and  blue. 
She  carries  the  national  colors  in  her  face  and  eyes. 
My  wife  has  had  a  superb  Christmas  present,  a  dia- 
mond cross,  from  members  of  the  parish.  I  do  not 
read  of  any  instance  in  the  New  Testament  of  an 
apostle's  wife  receiving  a  more  beautiful  one. 

"I  am  hard  at  work  as  usual  but  not  in  lecturing. 
There  is  a  great  flood  in  the  interior.  California 
is  a  lake.  Rats,  squirrels,  locusts,  lecturers  and  other 
pests  are  drowned  out.  I  am  a  home-bird,  and  en- 
joy it  hugely.  Eight  discourses  I  have  written  on 
the  Book  of  Job,  and  a  lecture  of  an  hour  and  a 
quarter  on  the  Pilgrims  for  December  22nd.  In 
fact  I  never  wrote  so  much  in  any  former  years  as 
this  last  year,  and  yet  I  am  very  strong.  I  grow  old 
in  looks,  and  am  getting  gray,  but  am  feeling  well. 
As  to  going  back,  I  don't  know  when  it  will  be,  but 
not  for  a  year  from  next  April  at  any  rate.  I  want 
to  go  East,  but  ought  not  to.  There  is  some  talk 
of  making  me  Senator  from  California — but  I 
would  swim  to  Australia  before  taking  a  political 
post. 

[166] 


PATRIOTIC  ACTIVITIES 

"The  winter  is  very  warm,  once  we  saw  ice  in  the 
city,  just  a  skim  of  it,  but  roses  bloom  in  the  open 
air.  The  parish  is  strong,  out  of  debt  and  interested 
in  good  works.  We  have  the  telegraph  now,  and 
hear  of  the  fluctuations  and  wretched  conduct  of  the 
war." 

To  the  same. 

"San  Francisco,  January  20th,  1862. 
"I  send  you  a  copy  of  my  address  at  the  grave  of 
Colonel  Baker.  I  attended  a  private  funeral  service 
at  his  wife's  and  daughter's  residence  before  the  pub- 
lic ceremony.  I  knew  the  Colonel  and  found  him 
a  very  able  and  brilliant  man.  His  daughter  is  a 
parishioner  of  mine.     He  is  a  great  loss  to  this  coast." 

A  lecture  by  Mr.  King  on  "The  Privilege  and 
Duties  of  Patriotism"  sets  forth,  as  does  no  other  of 
ihis  public  addresses,  the  central  thought  and  purpose 
of  these  activities  in  behalf  of  the  undivided  Union 
of  States.  By  permission  of  the  publishers  of  Starr 
King's  writings  passages  from  this  oration  are  given 
below.  Yet  as  we  transcribe  them  we  feel  how  in- 
adequately the  written  or  printed  page  reproduces  the 
spoken  word  of  the  orator,  or  preserves  the  impres- 
sion it  made  on  his  auditors.  As  Mr.  King  himself 
tells  us : 

"Alas  for  the  perishableness  of  eloquence!  It  is 
the  only  thing  in  the  higher  walks  of  human  creative- 
ness  that  passes  away.  The  statue  lives  after  the 
sculptor  dies,  as  sublime  as  when  his  chisel  left  it. 
St.  Peter's  is  a  perpetual  memorial  and  utterance  of 

[167] 


THOMAS  STARR  KING 

the  great  mind  of  Angelo.  The  Iliad  is  as  fresh  to- 
day as  twenty-five  centuries  ago.  The  picture  may 
grow  richer  with  years.  But  great  oratory,  the  most 
delightful  and  marvellous  of  the  expressions  of  moral 
power,  passes  and  dies  with  the  occasion." 

Yet  if  the  strains  of  the  great  singers  who  capti- 
vate the  hearts  of  men  to-day;  if  the  sweet  music  of 
violin  and  flute  and  harp  may  be  recorded  and  re- 
produced at  will  to  the  delight  of  later  generations, 
may  we  not  hope  that  by  the  perfecting  of  mechan- 
ical inventions  the  voice  and  inflections  of  future 
orators  and  preachers  may  be  preserved  for  the  edi- 
fication of  posterity? 

Said  Starr  King: 

"I  am  to  speak  to  you  of  the  Privilege  and  Duties 
of  American   Patriotism. 

"First  the  Privilege.  Patriotism  is  love  of  coun- 
try. It  is  a  privilege  that  we  are  capable  of  such  a 
sentiment.  Self-love  is  the  freezing-point  in  the 
temperature  of  the  world.  As  the  heart  is  kindled 
and  ennobled  it  pours  out  feeling  and  interest,  first 
upon  family  and  kindred,  then  upon  country,  then 
upon  humanity.  The  home,  the  flag,  the  cross, — 
these  are  the  representatives  or  symbols  of  the  noblest 
and  most  sacred  afifections  or  treasures  of  feeling  in 
human  nature. 

"We  sometimes  read  arguments  by  very  strict 
moralists  which  cast  a  little  suspicion  upon  the  value 
of  patriotism  as  a  virtue,  for  the  reason  that  the  law 
of  love,  unrestricted  love,  should  be  our  guide  and 
inspiration.     We  must  be  cosmopolitan  by  our  sym- 

[i68] 


PATRIOTIC  ACTIVITIES 

pathy,  they  prefer  to  say.  Patriotism,  if  it  inter- 
feres with  the  wider  spirit  of  humanity,  is  sectional- 
ism of  the  heart.  We  must  not  give  up  to  country 
'what  is  meant  for  mankind.' 

''Such  sentiments  may  be  uttered  in  the  interest  of 
Christian  philanthropy,  but  they  are  not  healthy. 
The  Divine  method  in  evoking  our  noblest  affec- 
tions is  always  from  particulars  to  generals.  God 
'hath  set  the  solitary  in  families,'  and  bound  the  fam- 
ilies into  communities,  and  organized  communities 
into  nations;  and  he  has  ordained  special  duties  for 
each  of  these  relationships,  and  inspired  affections 
to  prompt  the  discharge  of  them,  and  to  exalt  the 
character. 

"The  law  of  love  is  the  principle  of  the  spiritual 
universe  just  as  gravitation  is  the  governing  force  of 
space.  It  binds  each  particle  of  matter  to  every 
other  particle,  but  it  attracts  inversely  as  the  square 
of  the  distance,  and  thus  becomes  practically  a  series 
of  local  or  special  forces,  holding  our  feet  perpetu- 
ally to  one  globe,  and  allowing  only  a  general  unity, 
which  the  mind  appropriates  through  science  and 
meditation,  with  the  kindred  but  far-off  spheres. 
The  man  that  has  most  of  the  sentiment  of  love  will 
have  the  most  intense  special  affections.  You  can- 
not love  the  whole  world  and  nobody  in  particular. 
If  you  try  that,  it  will  be  true  of  you  as  of  the  miser 
who  said,  'what  I  give  is  nothing  to  nobody.'  How- 
ever deep  his  baptism  in  general  good-will,  a  man 
must  look  with  a  thrill  that  nothing  else  can  awaken, 
into  the  face  of  the  mother  that  bore  him;  he  cannot 
cast  off  the  ties  that  bind  him  to  filial  responsibilities 
and  a  brother's  devotion;  and  Providence  has  or- 
dained that  out  of  identity  of  race,  a  common  his- 
tory, the  same  scenery,  literature,  laws,  and  aims, — 

[169] 


THOMAS  STARR  KING 

though  in  perfect  harmony  with  good-will  to  all  men, 
— the  wider  family  feeling,  the  distinctive  virtue, 
patriotism,  should  spring.  If  the  ancient  Roman 
could  believe  that  the  yellow  Tiber  was  the  river 
dearest  to  Heaven;  if  the  Englishman  can  see  a  gran- 
deur in  the  Thames  which  its  size  will  not  suggest; 
if  the  Alpine  storm-wind  is  a  welcome  home-song 
to  the  Swiss  mountaineer;  if  the  Laplander  believes 
that  his  country  is  the  best  the  sun  shines  upon;  if 
the  sight  of  one's  own  national  flag  in  other  lands 
will  at  once  awaken  feelings  that  speed  the  blood  and 
melt  the  eyes;  if  the  poorest  man  will  sometimes 
cherish  a  proud  consciousness  of  property  in  the  great 
deeds  that  glow  upon  his  country's  annals  and  in  the 
monuments  of  its  power, — let  us  confess  that  the 
heart  of  man,  made  for  the  Christian  law,  was  made 
also  to  contract  a  special  friendship  for  its  native 
soil,  its  kindred  stock,  its  ancestral  traditions, — let 
us  not  fail  to  see  that  where  the  sentiment  of  patriot- 
ism is  not  deep,  a  sacred  affection  is  absent,  an  es- 
sential element  of  virtue  is  wanting,  and  religion  is 
barren  of  one  prominent  witness  of  its  sway. 

"But  why  argue  in  favor  of  patriotism  as  a  lofty 
virtue?  History  refuses  to  countenance  the  analytic 
ethics  of  spiritual  dreamers.  It  pushes  into  notice 
Leonidas,  Tell,  Cincinnatus,  Camillus,  Hampden, 
Winkelried,  Scipio,  Lafayette,  Adams,  Bolivar,  and 
Washington,  in  whom  the  sentiment  has  become  flesh, 
and  gathered  to  itself  the  world's  affections  and  hon- 
ors. It  asks  us,  'What  do  you  say  of  these  men? 
These  are  among  the  brighter  jewels  of  my  kingdom. 
Thousands  of  millions  fade  away  into  the  night  in 
my  realm,  but  these  souls  shine  as  stars,  with  purer 
lustre  as  they  retreat  into  the  blue  of  time.     Is  not 

[170] 


PATRIOTIC  ACTIVITIES 

their  line  of  greatness  as  legitimate  as  that  of  poets, 
philosophers,  philanthropists,  and  priests?'  .  .  . 

NATIONAL   PATRIOTISM 

''It  is  a  privilege  of  our  nature,  hardly  to  be  meas- 
ured, that  we  are  capable  of  the  emotion  of  patriot- 
ism, that  we  can  feel  a  nation's  life  in  our  veins,  re- 
joice in  a  nation's  glory,  sufifer  for  a  nation's  momen- 
tary shame,  throb  with  a  nation's  hope.  .  .  . 

''Think  of  a  man  living  in  one  of  the  illustrious 
civilized  communities  of  the  world,  and  insensible 
to  its  history,  honor,  and  future, — say  of  England! 
Think  of  an  intelligent  inhabitant  of  England  so 
wrapped  in  selfishness  that  he  has  no  consciousness 
of  the  mighty  roots  of  that  kingdom,  nor  of  the  tough- 
ness of  its  trunk,  nor  of  the  spread  of  its  gnarled 
boughs!  Runnymede  and  Agincourt  are  behind 
him,  but  he  is  insensible  to  the  civil  triumph  and 
the  knightly  valor.  All  the  literature  that  is 
crowned  by  Bacon,  Shakespeare,  and  Milton,  the 
noblest  this  earth  ever  produced  from  one  national 
stock,  awakens  in  him  no  heart-beat  of  pride.  He 
reads  of  the  sturdy  blows  in  the  great  rebellion,  and 
of  the  gain  to  freedom  by  the  later  and  more  quiet 
revolution,  and  it  is  no  more  to  him  than  if  the  record 
had  been  dropped  from  another  planet.  The  tri- 
umphs of  English  science  over  nature,  the  hiss  of 
her  engines,  the  whirl  of  her  wheels,  the  roar  of  her 
factory  drums,  the  crackle  of  her  furnaces,  the  beat 
of  her  hammers,  the  vast  and  chronic  toil  that  mines 
her  treasures,  afifect  him  with  no  wonder  and  arouse 
no  exultant  thrill  of  partnership.  And  he  sees  noth- 
ing and  feels  nothing  that  stirs  his  torpid  blood  in 
the  strokes  and  sweep  of  that  energy,  before  which 

[171] 


THOMAS  STARR  KING 

the  glory  of  Waterloo  and  Trafalgar  is  dim,  which 
has  knit  to  the  English  will  colonies  and  empires 
within  a  century  which  number  nearly  one  fourth  of 
the  inhabitants  of  the  globe.  The  red  flag  of  Eng- 
land hung  out  on  all  her  masts,  from  all  her  house- 
tops, and  from  every  acre  of  her  conquests  and  pos- 
sessions, would  almost  give  this  planet  the  color  of 
Mars,  if  seen  through  a  telescope  from  a  neighbor- 
ing star.  What  a  privilege  to  be  a  conscious  fibre  of 
that  compacted  force!  If  I  were  an  Englishman, 
I  should  be  proud  every  hour  of  every  day  over  my 
heritage.  .  .  .  The  man  who  is  dead  to  such  pride 
ought  not  to  be  rated  as  a  man. 

"And  is  it  any  less  a  privilege  to  be  an  American? 
Suppose  that  the  continent  could  turn  towards  you 
to-morrow  at  sunrise,  and  show  to  you  the  whole 
American  area  in  the  short  hours  of  the  sun's  ad- 
vance from  Eastport  to  the  Pacific!  You  would  see 
New  England  roll  into  light  from  the  green  plumes 
of  Aroostook  to  the  silver  stripe  of  the  Hudson ;  west- 
ward thence  over  the  Empire  State,  and  over  the 
lakes,  and  over  the  sweet  valleys  of  Pennsylvania, 
and  over  the  prairies,  the  morning  blush  would  run 
and  would  waken  all  the  line  of  the  Mississippi; 
from  the  frosts  where  it  rises,  to  the  fervid  waters  in 
which  it  pours;  for  three  thousand  miles  it  would 
be  visible,  fed  by  rivers  that  flow  from  every  mile 
of  the  Alleghany  slope,  and  edged  by  the  green  em- 
broideries of  the  temperate  and  tropic  zones;  beyond 
this  line  another  basin,  too,  the  Missouri,  catching 
the  morning,  leads  your  eye  along  its  western  slope, 
till  the  Rocky  Mountains  burst  upon  the  vision,  and 
yet  do  not  bar  it;  across  its  passes  we  must  follow, 
as  the  stubborn  courage  of  American  pioneers  has 
forced  its  way,  till  again  the  Sierra  and  their  silver 

[172] 


PATRIOTIC  ACTIVITIES 

veins  are  tinted  along  the  mighty  bulwark  with  the 
break  of  day;  and  then  over  to  the  gold-fields  of  the 
western  slope,  and  the  fatness  of  the  California  soil, 
and  the  beautiful  valleys  of  Oregon,  and  the  stately 
forests  of  Washington,  the  eye  is  drawn,  as  the  globe 
turns  out  of  the  night-shadow,  and  when  the  Pacific 
waves  are  crested  with  radiance,  you  have  the  one 
blending  picture,  nay,  the  reality,  of  the  American 
domain!  No  such  soil,  so  varied  by  climate,  by  prod- 
ucts, by  mineral  riches,  by  forest  and  lake,  by  wild 
heights  and  buttresses,  and  by  opulent  plains, — yet 
all  bound  into  unity  of  configuration  and  bordered 
by  both  warm  and  icy  seas, — no  such  domain  was 
ever  given  to  one  people. 

THE  LESSON   OF  HISTORY 

"And  then  suppose  that  you  could  see  in  a  picture 
as  vast  and  vivid  the  preparation  for  our  inheritance 
of  this  land: — Columbus  haunted  by  his  round  idea 
and  setting  sail  in  a  sloop  to  see  Europe  sink  behind 
him,  while  he  was  serene  in  the  faith  of  his  dream; 
the  later  navigators  of  every  prominent  Christian 
race  who  explored  the  upper  coasts;  the  Mayflower 
with  her  cargo  of  sifted  acorns  from  the  hardy  stock 
of  British  puritanism,  and  the  ship,  whose  name  we 
know  not,  that  bore  to  Virginia  the  ancestors  of 
Washington;  the  clearing  of  the  wilderness,  and  the 
dotting  of  its  clearings  with  the  proofs  of  manly 
wisdom  and  Christian  trust;  then  the  gradual  inter- 
blending  of  effort  and  interest  and  sympathy  into 
one  life,  the  congress  of  the  whole  Atlantic  slope  to 
resist  oppression  upon  one  member,  the  rally  of  every 
State  around  Washington  and  his  holy  sword,  and 
again  the  nobler  rally  around  him  when  he  signed 
the  Constitution,  and  after  that  the  organization  of 

[173] 


THOMAS  STARR  KING 

the  farthest  West  with  North  and  South  into  one 
polity  and  communion;  when  this  was  finished,  the 
tremendous  energy  of  free  life,  under  the  stimulus 
and  with  the  aid  of  advancing  science,  in  increasing 
wealth,  subduing  the  wilds  to  the  bonds  of  use,  mul- 
tiplying fertile  fields,  and  busy  schools,  and  noble 
workshops,  and  churches  hallowed  by  free-will  ofifer- 
ings  of  prayer,  and  happy  homes,  and  domes  dedi- 
cated to  the  laws  of  states  that  rise  by  magic  from  the 
haunts  of  the  buffalo  and  deer,  all  in  less  than  a  long 
lifetime;  and  if  we  could  see  also  how,  in  achieving 
this,  the  flag  which  represents  all  this  history  is  dyed 
in  traditions  of  exploits,  by  land  and  sea,  that  have 
given  heroes  to  American  annals  whose  names  are 
potent  to  conjure  with,  while  the  world's  list  of 
thinkers  in  matter  is  crowded  with  the  names  of 
American  inventors,  and  the  higher  rolls  of  literary 
merit  are  not  empty  of  the  title  of  our  'representative 
men': — if  all  that  the  past  has  done  for  us  and  the 
present  reveals  could  thus  stand  apparent  in  one  pic- 
ture, and  then  if  the  promise  of  the  future  to  the  chil- 
dren of  our  millions  under  our  common  law,  and 
with  continental  peace,  could  be  caught  in  one  vast 
spectral  exhibition,  the  wealth  in  store,  the  power, 
the  privilege,  the  freedom,  the  learning,  the  expan- 
sive and  varied  and  mighty  unity  in  fellowship,  al- 
most fulfilling  the  poet's  dream  of 

'The   Parliament  of  man,   the  federation  of  the 
world,' 

you  would  exclaim  with  exultation,  'I,  too,  am  an 
American!'  You  would  feel  that  patriotism,  next 
to  your  tie  to  the  Divine  Love,  is  the  greatest  privi- 
lege of  your  life;  and  you  would  devote  yourselves, 
out  of  inspiration  and  joy,  to  the  obligations  of  patri- 

[■74] 


PATRIOTIC  ACTIVITIES 

otism,  that  this  land,  so  spread,  so  adorned,  so  colo- 
nized, so  blessed,  should  be  kept  forever  one  in  pol- 
ity, in  spirit,  and  in  aims!  .  .  . 

"True  patriotism  is  pledged  to  the  idea  which  one's 
native  country  represents.  It  does  not  accept  and 
glory  in  its  country  merely  for  what  it  is  at  present 
and  has  been  in  the  past,  but  for  what  it  may  be. 
Each  nation  has  a  representative  value.  Each  race 
that  has  appropriated  a  certain  latitude  which  har- 
monizes with  its  blood  has  the  capacity  to  work  out 
special  good  results,  and  to  reveal  great  truths  in 
some  original  forms.  God  designs  that  each  coun- 
try shall  bear  a  peculiar  ideal  physiognomy,  and  he 
has  set  its  geographical  characteristics  as  a  bony 
skeleton,  and  breathed  into  it  a  free  life  spirit,  which, 
if  loyal  to  the  intention,  will  keep  the  blood  in  health, 
infuse  vigor  into  every  limb,  give  symmetry  to  the 
form,  and  carry  the  flush  of  a  pure  and  distinct  ex- 
pression to  the  countenance.  It  is  the  patriot's  office 
to  study  the  laws  of  public  growth  and  energy,  and 
to  strive  with  enthusiastic  love  to  guard  against  every 
disease  that  would  cripple  the  frame,  that  he  may 
prevent  the  lineaments  of  vice  and  brutality  from 
degrading  the  face  which  God  would  have  radiant 
with  truth,  genius,  and  purity. 

''He  was  the  best  patriot  of  ancient  Greece  who 
had  the  widest  and  wisest  conception  of  the  capacities 
and  genius  of  Greece,  and  labored  to  paint  that  ideal 
winningly  before  the  national  mind,  and  to  direct  the 
flame  of  national  aspiration,  fanned  by  heroic  mem- 
ories, up  to  the  noblest  possibilities  of  Grecian  en- 
deavor. The  truest  patriot  of  England  would  be 
the  man  whose  mind  should  see  in  the  English  genius 
and  geography  what  that  nation  could  do  naturally 
and  best  for  humanity,  and,  seizing  the  traditional 

[175] 


THOMAS  STARR  KING 

elements  that  are  in  harmony  with  that  possibility, 
should  use  them  to  enliven  his  own  sympathies,  and 
to  quicken  the  nation's  energy.  We  might  say  the 
same  of  Russia  and  Italy.  The  forward  look  is  es- 
sential to  patriotism. 

"And  how  much  more  emphatically  and  impres- 
sively true  is  this  when  we  bring  our  own  country 
into  the  foreground!  We  have  been  placed  on  our 
domain  for  the  sake  of  a  hope.  What  we  have  done, 
and  what  has  been  done  for  us,  is  only  preparation, 
the  outline-sketching  of  a  picture  to  be  filled  with 
color  and  life  in  the  next  three  centuries.  Shall  the 
sketch  be  blurred  and  the  canvas  be  torn  in  two? 
That  is  what  we  are  to  decide  in  these  bitter  and 
bloody  days. 

NATIONAL  UNITY 

"Our  struggle  now  is  to  keep  the  country  from 
falling  away  from  the  idea  which  every  great  patriot 
has  recognized  as  the  purpose  towards  which  our 
history,  from  the  first,  has  been  moving.  God  de- 
vised the  scheme  for  us  of  one  republic.  He  planted 
the  further  slope  of  the  Alleghanies  at  first  with 
Saxon  men;  he  has  striped  the  Pacific  Coast  with  the 
energy  of  their  descendants,  protecting  thus  both 
avenues  of  entrance  to  our  domain  against  European 
intrusion;  but  the  great  wave  of  population  he  has 
rolled  across  the  Alleghanies  into  the  central  basin. 
That  is  the  seat  of  the  American  polity.  And  an 
imperial  river  runs  through  it  to  embarrass,  and  to 
shame,  and  to  balk  all  plans  of  rupture.  The  Missis- 
sippi bed  was  laid  by  the  Almighty  as  the  keel  of 
the  American  ship,  and  the  channel  of  every  stream 
that  pours  into  it  is  one  of  its  ribs.  We  have  just 
covered  the  mighty  frame  with  planking,  and  have 

[176] 


PATRIOTIC  ACTIVITIES 

divided  the  hull  into  State  compartments.     And  the 
rebels  say,  'Break  the  ship  in  two.'     They  scream, 
'We  have  a  right  to,  on  the  ground  of  the  sovereignty 
of  the  compartments,  and  the  principles  of  the  Dec- 
laration of  Independence;  we  have  a  right  to,  and 
we  will!'     The  loyal  heart  of  the  nation  answers,, 
'We  will  knock  out  all  your  Gulf  compartments  and 
shiver  your  sovereign  bulkheads,  built  of  ebony,  to- 
pieces,  and  leave  you  one  empty  territory  again,  be- 
fore you  shall  break  the  keel.'     That  is  the  right 
answer.     We  must  do  it,  not  only  for  our  own  safety^ 
but  to  preserve  the  idea  which  the  nation  has  beerh 
called  to  fulfil,  and  to  which  patriotism  is  called 
and  bound  to  be  loyal.     Aye,  even  if  there  were  one 
paragraph  or  line  in  the  Declaration  of  Indepen- 
dence that  breathed  or  hinted  a  sanction  of  the  re- 
bellion!    Geology  is  older  than  the  pen  of  Jefifer- 
son;  the  continent  is  broader  than  the  Continental 
Congress;  and  they  must  go  to  the  foundations  to 
learn  their  statesmanship. 

"The  Procrustes  bed  of  American  patriotism  is 
the  bed  of  the  Mississippi,  and  every  theory  of  na- 
tional life  and  every  plan  for  the  future  must  be 
stretched  on  that;  and  woe  to  its  wretched  bones  and 
sockets  if  it  naturally  reaches  but  half-way! 

"Providence  made  the  country,  too,  when  the  im- 
mense basin  should  be  filled  with  its  fitting  millions, 
to  show  the  world  the  beauty  and  economy  of  con- 
tinental peace.  It  is  a  destiny  radically  different 
from  that  of  Europe,  with  its  four  millions  of  armed 
men,  that  has  been  indicated  for  us.  By  the  inter- 
play of  widely  different  products  into  one  prosperity 
' — cotton  and  cattle,  tobacco  and  corn,  metals  and 
manufactures,  shipyards  and  banking  rooms,  forests 
and  fields, — and  all  under  one  law,  and  all  enjoying 

[177] 


THOMAS  STARR  KING 

local  liberty, — sufficient  centralization,  but  the  mild- 
est pressure  on  the  subordinate  districts  and  the  per- 
sonal will — Providence  designed  to  bless  us  with  im- 
mense prosperity,  to  develop  an  energy  unseen  be- 
fore on  this  globe,  and  to  teach  the  nations  a  lesson 
which  would  draw  them  into  universal  fraternity  and 
peace. 

"The  rebels  have  tried  to  frustrate  this  hope  and 
scheme.  Patriotism,  which  discerns  the  idea  to 
which  the  nation  is  thus  called,  arms  to  prevent  its 
defeat.  They  say  that  there  shall  not  be  such  unified 
prosperity  and  all-embracing  peace  for  the  future 
hundreds  of  millions  on  our  domain.  We  say  that 
there  shall.     And  we  arm  to  enforce  our  vision. 

"But  is  not  that  a  strange  way  to  establish  peace, 
by  fighting  on  such  a  scale  as  the  republic  now  wit- 
nesses? Is  it  not  a  novel  method  to  labor  for  econ- 
omy of  administration  and  expense  in  government 
by  a  war  which  will  fetter  the  nation  with  such  a 
debt?  We  answer,  the  rebellion  gave  the  challenge, 
and  now  victory  at  any  cost  is  the  only  economy. 
Carnage,  if  they  will  it,  is  the  only  path  to  peace. 

'For  our  own  good 
All  causes  shall  give  way;  we  are  in  blood 
Stept  in  so  far,  that,  should  we  wade  no  more, 
Returning  were  as  tedious  as  go  o'er.' 

Yes,  if  we  return,  all  our  blood  and  treasures  are 
wasted.  The  peace  we  gain  by  victory  is  for  all  the 
future,  and  for  uncounted  millions.  The  debt  we 
incur  by  three  years'  fighting  will  be  nothing  com- 
pared with  the  new  energy  and  security  aroused, 
nothing  to  the  next  hundred  years.  And  it  will  es- 
tablish the  idea  to  which  the  land  was  dedicated." 

[178] 


CHAPTER  II 

ORATORICAL  CAMPAIGN   FOR  THE  UNION 

AS  the  nation  plunged  deeper  and  deeper  into 
war,  it  became  evident  that  Starr  King  had 
not  underestimated  the  arduousness  of  the 
campaign  in  which  he  was  enlisted,  and  the  drain  on 
his  own  powers  which  it  involved.  "What  a  time 
to  live  in,"  he  wrote  to  a  friend,  "worth  all  other 
times  ever  known  in  our  history  or  any  other."  Only 
one  thought  now  possessed  him,  his  duty  to  his  coun- 
try. His  health,  always  delicate,  had  been  severely 
tried  by  the  exacting  nature  of  his  California  experi- 
ances.  We  find  him  writing  to  the  chairman  of  his 
parish:  "It  is  useless  to  disguise  the  fact  that  I  am 
not  as  well  as  I  was  when  in  Boston.  I  experience 
strange  debility  and  singular  pains  and  numbness  in 
the  brain.  For  writing  purposes  I  am  nearly  worth- 
less." But,  he  said  to  a  friend,  "I  had  rather  die  next 
year  than  be  sick  this."  Arousing  himself  he  jour- 
neyed again  and  again  over  the  State,  the  eloquent 
champion  of  union  and  liberty.  Everywhere  he  met 
with  enthusiastic  welcome,  and  his  popularity  and 
influence  became  unbounded.  His  course  in  pre- 
paring the  public  mind  for  the  deeper  issues  of  the 
war  displayed  rare  judgment  and  tact.     At  first  his 

[179] 


THOMAS  STARR  KING 

utterances  were  all  for  the  maintenance  of  the  Union. 
With  unanswerable  logic  he  proved  the  necessity  for 
its  preservation,  and  exposed  the  fallacy  and  unjusti- 
fiableness  of  the  Rebellion  against  the  Central  Gov- 
ernment. "Rebellion,"  he  declared,  "sins  against 
the  Mississippi,  it  sins  against  the  coast  line,  it  sins 
against  the  ballot  box,  it  sins  against  oaths  of  alle- 
giance, it  sins  against  public  and  beneficent  progress 
and  history  and  hope — the  worth  of  the  laborer,  the 
rights  of  man.  It  strikes  for  barbarism  against  civ- 
ilization." 

Growing  bolder  and  more  confident  he  would  feel 
his  audiences  with  an  occasional  reference  to  the  ques- 
tion of  negro  soldiery,  striving  to  uproot  the  preju- 
dices they  might  entertain  against  this  war  measure. 
"Cannon  balls  are  black,"  he  would  say,  "war  does 
not  whitewash  them.  Powder  is  black.  War  does 
not  bleach  it.  Why  then,  this  absurd  prejudice 
against  a  race  of  the  same  color  in  the  grain  as  you 
and  I?"  Soon  the  responses  came  thicker  and  faster. 
The  popular  mind  grew  with  the  public  necessity. 
He  could  give  utterance  to  the  most  radical  senti- 
ments and  meet  only  applause,  and  bursting  its 
shackles  of  diplomacy  his  eloquence  thrilled  them 
with  its  fervent  appeals  for  the  equal  rights  of  all 
men,  white  or  black. 

Referring  to  the  ardently  awaited  Proclamation 
emancipating  the  Slaves,  he  declared  with  passionate 
eagerness:  "O  that  the  President  would  soon  speak 
that  electric  sentence, — inspiration  to  the  loyal  North, 

[.80] 


CAMPAIGN  FOR  THE  UNION 

doom  to  the  traitorous  aristocracy  whose  cup  of  guilt 
is  full.  Let  him  say  that  it  is  a  war  of  mass  against 
class,  of  America  against  feudalism,  of  the  school- 
master against  the  slave-master,  of  workmen  against 
the  barons,  of  the  ballot-box  against  the  Barracoon. 
This  is  what  the  struggle  means.  Proclaim  it  so, 
and  what  a  light  breaks  through  our  leaden  sky! 
The  ocean-wave  rolls  then  with  the  impetus  and 
weight  of  an  idea." 

These  patriotic  sentiments  were  uppermost  in  all 
his  public  utterances  at  the  time.  When  he  gave  a 
course  of  lectures  on  the  American  poets  it  was  to 
show  that  their  underlying  inspiration  was  their  faith 
in  freedom  and  the  rights  of  men,  their  love  of  coun- 
try aind  humanity;  to  thrill  his  hearers  by  reciting 
the  latest  patriotic  verses  which  his  literary  friends, 
Longfellow,  Holmes,  Bryant,  Whittier,  Lowell,  had 
sent  him  in  advance  of  their  publication  at  the  East. 
Was  'Taradise  Lost"  his  theme?  It  was  to  find  in 
the  fallen  angels  and  their  doom  a  parallel  with  the 
seceding  states  of  the  South. 

This  literary  activity  for  the  Union  cause  will  ex- 
plain the  following  letters  to  Eastern  correspondents. 

To  Dr.  Henry  W.  Bellows: 

"San  Francisco,  October,  1862. 

"I  have  a  matter  to  speak  of,  which  is  very  deli- 
cate. 

"We  are  to  build  a  new  church  here  at  a  cost  of 
about  fifty  thousand  dollars.  Added  to  that  the 
land  cost  eighteen  thousand.     Then  a  new  organ, 

[.81] 


THOMAS  STARR  KING 

to  be  built  out  here  (one  of  my  hobbies) ,  to  cost  four 
thousand,  and  all  to  be  paid  for  in  a  year.  It  will 
be  a  very  hard  pull.  But  I  must  carry  it  through, 
in  spite  of  war  and  all  other  calls  for  money.  For 
I  ought  to  leave  here,  year  after  next,  if  the  war 
shall  cease,  to  get  a  little  rest,  even  if  I  return  here 
afterwards. 

"Now  I  have  promised  to  furnish  the  new  organ, 
as  my  gift,  besides  subscribing  to  the  church  build- 
ing. A  thousand  dollars  already  are  secured.  And 
about  New  Year  I  shall  give  a  course  of  lectures  here 
on  prominent  American  poets — Bryant,  Longfellow, 
Holmes,  Whittier,  Lowell,  partly  to  sweeten  our  civ- 
ilization, and  partly  to  help  along  the  organ  fund. 

"I  think  that  Holmes,  Whittier  and  Lowell  will 
each  send  to  me  a  short  piece  which  has  never  been 
printed,  to  read  at  the  close  of  the  lecture  devoted 
to  them.  Has  Bryant  anything  in  manuscript  which 
could  be  sent  to  me  to  read  at  the  close  of  the  intro- 
ductory lecture  which  will  be  devoted  to  his  verse? 
The  reading  of  a  piece  here  would  not  hinder  the 
publication  in  any  shape  at  the  East.  And  I  am  sure 
that  the  course  of  lectures  will  help  civilization  here, 
increase  the  demand  for  our  best  literature,  and  sup- 
ply a  golden  strand  for  the  cable  that  is  to  bind  this 
coast  to  the  East.  I  dare  not  ask  Mr.  Bryant  di- 
rectly: perhaps  you  will  think  it  not  unbecoming  to 
make  the  suggestions,  and  you  may  feel  sure  that  his 
kindness,  if  the  request  can  be  granted,  will  not  be 
indelicately  used.  If  he  has  any  war-verses,  or 
wishes  to  say  anything  further  about  the  Oregon, 
that  hears  now  so  many  other  sounds  than  its  own 
dashings,  how  welcome  they  would  be!  Of  course, 
I  must  know  very  soon  if  I  can  hope  for  such  a  great 

[182] 


CAMPAIGN  FOR  THE  UNION 

favor  to  our  city,  and  if  anything  is  sent,  it  had  better 
come  by  Wells,  Fargo's  Express  by  steamer. 

'T.  S.  K." 

It  was  sent — Bryant's  war  poem,  the  first  verse  of 
which  reads: 

"O  country,  marvel  of  the  earth! 
O  realm  to  sudden  greatness  grown! 
The  age  that  gloried  in  thy  birth. 
Shall  it  behold  thee  overthrown? 
Shall  traitors  lay  that  greatness  low? 
No,  land  of  Hope  and  Blessing,  No!" 

To  William  R.  Alger: 

"San  Francisco,  December,  1862. 
"Will  you  take  this  to  Jas.  T.  Fields — dear  James 
— and  say  that  I  am  just  made  happy  by  the  despatch 
from  Bellows  in  which,  among  other  things,  he 
lightningizes  the  news  that  poems  from  Longfellow, 
Holmes  and  Whittier  will  go  Californiaward  by 
steamer  of  the  nth  of  Dec.  Thank  James  superbly, 
and  ask  him  piteously,  beseechingly,  if  Lowell  won't 
also  send  one!  It  would  be  such  a  treat  here,  and 
Lowell  is  so  popular,  and  could  touch  the  heart  of  this 
State  so  electrically  by  a  direct  message.  Tell  James 
T.  also  not  to  forget  my  request  to  his  poetic  ink- 
stand. I  know  the  ink  is  ready  and  it  will  run  free  if 
he  will  dip  his  pen  in.  I  embrace  James  T.  and  ex- 
pect him  to  feel  the  squeeze  so  that  the  two  poems 
will  appear!" 

Mr.  King's  pulpit  was  draped  throughout  the 
whole  of  this  eventful  period  with  the  American  flag, 
and  not  infrequently  the  rumble  of  half-suppressed 

[183] 


THOMAS  STARR  KING 

applause  at  the  sentiments  of  the  preacher  ran 
through  the  pews.  The  titles  of  some  of  his  sermons 
indicated  the  character  of  their  teaching.  Such  were 
''The  Choice  between  Barrabas  and  Jesus";  "The 
Fall  of  Dagon  before  the  Ark";  "The  Treason  of 
Judas  Iscariot";  "The  Nation's  New  Year"; 
(1863).  Starr  King  had  no  fear  of  political 
preaching,  "He  believed  the  pulpit  to  be  the  prow 
of  the  Ship  of  State,  and  that  its  mission  was  to  point 
the  way  in  all  the  great  moral  crises  of  the  nation." 
Writing  to  Edward  Everett  Hale,  he  tells  him: 

"I  arranged  last  week  for  a  grand  jubilee  thanks- 
giving service  in  our  church  on  Sunday  morning, 
February  23.  We  have  Trenkle  as  organist,  you 
know.  And  our  quartette  choir  is  admirable.  We 
doubled  it;  selected  the  great  battle  psalms  for  re- 
sponsive chanting,  the  Columbiad  passages  of  proph- 
ecy for  Scripture  reading,  prayers  and  exultations 
from  Judas  Maccabeus  (Handel's,  not  Apocrypha's), 
with  a  Gloria  of  Mozart  for  the  official  music,  and 
Holmes's  Army  Hymn  for  the  congregation  to  lift 
in  an  artillery  chorus  to  the  Lutheran  passion  of  Old 
Hundred;  and  thus  enjoyed  ourselves,  with  a  crowd 
that  packed  the  house.  Hundreds  went  away  from 
the  doors.  I  felt  the  whole  fervor  of  the  congrega- 
tion pour  through  me,  and  came  near  going  ofT  the 
handle  in  the  address  which  brought  down  the  house. 
Since  Sunday  I  have  been  disturbed  in  the  heart 
region,  and  to-night  am  quite  weak  and  a  little  fever- 
ish. But  I  have  squared  accounts  with  that  pain  in 
the  head  for  Bull  Run.      So  please  to  be  more  mod- 

[184] 


CAMPAIGN  FOR  THE  UNION 

erate  with  your  victories,  unless  you  mean  to  kill 
some  of  us  out  here.     One  a  week  is  all  we  can  bear." 

The  labor  of  preparing  his  lectures  and  addresses 
now  became  overpowering.  He  had  rarely  at- 
tempted extemporaneous  speaking,  and  then  with  no 
marked  success.  "I  have  not  got,"  he  would  say, 
"the  faculty  of  thinking  on  my  feet,  as  Beecher  has 
it."  All  his  great  war-time  addresses  were  carefully 
dictated  or  written  out  by  himself,  and  read  to  his 
audiences  from  the  manuscript.  Only  by  the  elec- 
tric quality  of  his  delivery  and  his  admirable  elocu- 
tion was  he  enabled  to  read  his  written  speeches  with 
such  effect.  Mrs.  Jessie  Fremont  recounts  that  when 
Senator  Baker  of  Oregon  on  his  way  to  join  his  regi- 
ment at  the  East,  addressed  a  great  meeting  in  Piatt's 
Hall,  Mr.  King  went  with  General  and  Mrs.  Fre- 
mont to  hear  him.  As  he  listened  to  Baker's  splen- 
did periods  and  saw  their  powerful  effect  on  his  audi- 
ence, he  walked  up  and  down  the  private  box  they 
were  occupying,  in  great  excitement,  saying  again 
and  again,  "That  is  the  true  way  to  reach  men!  I 
can  never  do  that.  How  I  envy  him!"  But  Mr. 
King  was  soon  compelled  to  make  the  attempt,  and 
his  success  in  extempore  speech  was  as  much  a  sur- 
prise to  himself  as  it  was  gratifying  to  his  friends. 
In  this  iraprovised  speaking  the  orator  was  even 
more  apparent. 

A  characteristic  of  Starr  King's  oratorical  style 
was  the  frequent  length  of  his  sentences.  This  pecu- 
liarity was  due  in  part  to  the  lightning-like  rapidity 

[■85] 


THOAS  STARR  KING 

of  (his  thought  and  imagination,  and  his  astounding 
fecundity  of  language,  but  even  more  to  his  habit 
of  dictating  his  sermons  and  lectures  to  an  amanu- 
ensis, a  method  unfavorable  to  literary  condensation 
and  brevity  of  expression.  Had  Mr.  King  lived  to 
revise  his  public  utterances  before  they  were  sub- 
mitted to  the  printer,  they  would  doubtless  have  un- 
dergone some  changes  in  literary  form  likely  to  make 
them  more  acceptable  to  the  reader.  This  draw- 
back— if  such  it  was — was  less  noticeable  in  his  public 
speaking;  indeed  it  seemed  to  add  to  its  efifectiveness. 
As  his  sentences  developed,  each  successive  stroke 
gave  new  depth  and  beauty  to  the  verbal  picture, 
each  added  illustration  made  it  more  convincing, 
sweeping  his  listeners  with  ever-accumulating  power 
to  acceptance  of  its  final  and  irresistible  appeal.  As 
when  a  great  wave  out  at  sea  lifts  itself  in  successive 
upheavals  above  the  surrounding  surface,  and  rushes 
on,  billow  on  billow,  to  the  distant  shore,  overcoming 
every  obstacle,  absorbing  into  itself  every  backward 
current,  finally  with  tremendous  accumulated  power 
to  reach  its  goal  and  hurl  its  watery  mass  in  foaming 
and  resounding  fury  upon  the  beach,  so  Starr  King 
by  the  impassioned  fervor  of  his  delivery  carried  his 
hearers  irresistibly  on  through  the  mazes  of  his  argu- 
ment, overcoming  successively  their  prejudices, 
doubts  and  fears,  until,  as  he  reached  the  conclusion, 
the  cumulative  efifect  of  his  oratory  was  shown  by 
their  enthusiastic  acceptance  of  his  sentiments  and 
their  uproarious  applause. 

[.86] 


CAMPAIGN  FOR  THE  UNION 

I  recall  that  on  one  occasion  at  a  public  rejoicing 
over  Union  victories  in  the  field,  the  great  audience 
in  Union  Hall  was  restless  and  only  half-attentive 
until  Mr.  King  took  a  seat  on  the  platform.  Then 
a  welcoming  burst  of  applause  overpowered  the  voice 
of  the  Union  candidate  for  Governor  who  was  ad- 
dressing them,  and  in  a  few  moments  he  yielded  the 
floor  to  Starr  King.  The  latter  came  forward.  The 
swaying  mass  of  men  on  the  floor  below,  packed 
breast  to  back,  quieted  down  in  an  instant.  With 
their  eyes  riveted  on  him  they  listened  in  deep  silence, 
a  silence  only  broken  by  the  applause  and  cheering 
which  his  words  elicited. 

Thus  he  held  them  enthralled,  fascinated,  until  in 
closing  his  powerful  address  he  drew  for  them  the 
word-picture  of  a  battle-field.  The  rush  and  din  of 
the  sitruggle,  the  wave  on  wave  of  alternate  advance 
and  retreat,  the  clash  of  arms,  the  agony,  the  triumph, 
were  all  delineated  with  wonderful  fidelity  and 
force. 

As  he  retired  from  the  platform,  an  answering 
cheer  went  up  from  three  thousand  throats  that  shook 
the  building  to  its  foundations. 

A  moment  later,  in  company  with  Frank  Bret 
Harte,  I  sought  him.  We  found  Mr.  King  lying  on 
a  sofa  in  the  anteroom,  pale  and  exhausted.  "What 
a  triumph!"  said  Harte.  "How  did  you  manage  to 
get  through  that  long  last  sentence?"  "I  hardly 
know,"  returned  Mr.  King,  "I  seemed  quite  uncon- 
scious of  my  surroundings.     My  imagination  beheld 

[■87] 


THOMAS  STARR  KING 

the  scenes,  my  mind  worked  out  the  sentences  mo- 
ments before  I  uttered  them." 

Mr.  King's  admirable  work  in  behalf  of  the  United 
States  Sanitary  Commission  for  the  sick  and  wounded 
soldiers  deserves  unstinted  praise.  By  his  urgent  ad- 
vice in  the  committee  room  not  to  divide  and  squander 
their  fund  among  the  many  applications  for  it,  and  by 
his  eloquent  appeals  in  public,  California's  splendid 
contribution  of  over  one  million  and  a  quarter  of  dol- 
lars— one  fourth  of  the  amount  contributed  by  the 
entire  country — to  this  cause  was  mainly  assured. 

In  a  letter  to  Edward  Everett  Hale,  he  describes 
the  beginning  of  his  activities  in  this  cause: 

''In  my  speech  I  tried  to  shame  our  city  for  its 
tardiness  and  indifference  on  the  wounded  soldiers 
question.  The  papers  took  up  the  note,  and  last 
Sunday  night  we  had  a  mass  meeting  in  Piatt's  great 
hall  in  this  city  to  stir  up  the  people  to  action.  Four 
prominent  lawyers  spoke,  and  I  closed  the  talking 
with  an  extempore  appeal  of  three-quarters  of  an 
hour.  It  was  a  glorious  meeting.  And  this  week 
we  have  sent  on  by  telegraph,  as  first  instalment  of 
our  subscriptions,  one  hundred  thousand  dollars 
to  the  Sanitary  Commission.  We  shall  do  a  great 
deal  more  next  week,  and  I  hope  another  hundred 
thousand.  Pray  Heaven  it  may  go  to  victorious 
wounded!  But  alas!  we  have  no  proof  as  yet  that 
we  have  the  brains  to  lead  our  forces.  But  why 
speculate  three  weeks  ahead? 

"I  have  kept  well  in  all  the  labor  and  distraction. 
It  is  only  this  week  that  I  feel  used  up." 

Fitz-Hugh  Ludlow,  the  Secretary  and  historian 

[i88] 


CAMPAIGN  FOR  THE  UNION 

of  this  National  philanthropy,  tells  us :     "Starr  King 
loas  the  Sanitary  Commission  in  California." 

Letters  written  to  Dr.  Bellows,  President  of  the 
United  States  Sanitary  Commission,  the  clumsily 
named  Soldier's  Relief  Association  of  the  Civil  War, 
disclose  the  truth  of  this  statement. 

"San  Francisco,  March  i8,  1862. 

''My  dear  Bellows: 

"I  received  some  time  ago  your  eloquent  acknowl- 
edgments of  the  Victoria  cash.  Your  note  was  for- 
warded to  the  good  British  Yankees,  and  produced  an 
efifect  even  before  it  reached  them.  For  while  it  was 
on  the  way  I  received  another  letter  from  the  Com- 
mittee in  Victoria,  enclosing  a  draft  for  three  hun- 
dred dollars  more.  We  always  thought  of  you,  dear 
Bellows,  superior  to  all  ordinary  laws  that  hedge 
and  hamper  human  action.  This  Victoria  feat 
proves  that  you  can  raise  an  echo  before  your  will 
reaches  the  point  of  resistance. 

"What  to  do  with  the  three  hundred?  Of  course, 
we  couldn't  send  such  a  trifle  to  the  Commission. 
Well,  we  have  an  Olympic  Club  of  gentlemen-ath- 
letes here  who  gave  an  exhibition  not  long  ago  for 
the  benefit  of  our  volunteers,  at  which  I  cut  up  some 
antics  of  speech  in  an  opening  address.  I  made  them 
shell  off  two  hundred  dollars  from  their  Patriotic 
Corn  Cob.  Still  further,  we  have  a  small  associa- 
tion here  called  'The  Ladies'  Patriotic  Fund  Society.' 
Some  weeks  ago  they  gave  a  Festival,  at  the  opening 
of  which  I  speechified  and  read  Mrs.  Howe's  'Weave 
no  more  silk,  ye  Lyons  looms.'  The  festival  cleared 
$1500  for  the  benefit  of  our  volunteers  in  this  State. 
Last  Saturday,   I   met  the  Committee  of  excellent 

[189] 


THOMAS  STARR  KING 

women,  and  tried  my  luck  at  milking  that  fund  also 
for  your  benefit.  It  'gave  down'  five  hundred  dol- 
lars, after  I  had  pledged  myself  that  the  amount 
should  be  restored  if  occasion  should  come  in  the 
future  for  its  use  here.  (I  mean  restored  by  a  lec- 
ture or  festival  here,  not  by  you,  of  course.)  The 
ladies  seemed  very  glad  to  serve  the  objects  of  the 
Commission,  and  voted  heartily  to  accede  to  my  re- 
quest, although  their  'Constitution'  looked  on  aghast 
at  the  work. 

"So  you  see  I  have  gathered  another  thousand  for 
your  noble  work.  Our  collector  of  the  port  has 
hopes,  too,  of  sending  you  a  contribution  from  funds 
placed  at  his  discretion.  I  hope  he  will  be  able  to 
make  up  still  another  thousand.  If  our  flood-visita- 
tion had  not  come,  we  could  have  done  more  for  you, 
but  all  sympathy  and  energy  for  two  months  were 
drawn  towards  the  one  sacred  duty  of  protecting  the 
homeless  and  clothing  the  naked  who  flocked  by  hun- 
dreds to  us  from  their  ruined  farms  in  the  interior. 

"We  have  been  greatly  excited  here  over  the  'for- 
ward march'  from  Washington.  The  telegraph  first 
told  us  that  there  had  been  a  great  battle  at  Manassas 
and  a  total  rout  of  the  enemy.  Afterwards  we 
learned  that  it  was  a  retreat  of  the  latter.  When  the 
flag  streams  over  Richmond  and  Charleston,  things 
will  look  right,  so  far  as  battle  is  concerned.  But  the 
settlement  and  reconstruction!  Have  we  statesmen 
wise  and  strong  enough  to  draw  the  fitting  plan?  I 
see  all  the  difficulties  in  the  way  of  a  summary  treat- 
ment of  the  slave  question,  and  yet  if  its  Moloch- 
arrogance  isn't  crushed,  Jeff  Davis  will  be  elected 
the  next  President  of  the  Nation. 

"Have  you  met  Mrs.  Fremont?  I  hope  so.  Her 
husband  I  am  very  little  acquainted  with;  but  she  is 

[190] 


CAMPAIGN  FOR  THE  UNION 

sublime,  and  carries  guns  enough  to  be  formidable 
to  a  whole  Cabinet, — a  She-Merrimac,  thoroughly 
sheathed,  and  carrying  fire  in  the  genuine  Benton- 
furnaces. 

"I  read  all  your  addresses  and  reported  speeches 
with  great  admiration.  Your  'Birth-pangs  of  the 
Gospel'  is  a  stream  of  moral  electricity.  If  the  war 
lasts  a  year  longer,  how  are  you  to  manage  living? 
Of  course  you  will  burn  out  before  then.  I  think 
many  of  us  will  collapse  when  the  settlement  is  made, 
— go  out  with  the  Peace,  as  people  often  in  consump- 
tion 'go  out  with  the  tide.'  May  it  not  be  that  we 
shall  go  out  with  shame  at  the  terms  of  the  Peace! 

"But  I  am  boring  you.  Take  the  thousand  dol- 
lars with  our  best  feeling  for  the  Sanitary  Commis- 
sion, and  write  me  again  a  receipt  for  it,  to  show 
that  I  am  not  a  disciple  of  Cameron,  or  of  that  earlier 
Simon  who  traded  in  the  Holy  Ghost.  I  am  worn 
out  and  yet  on  the  tread-mill.  How  I  ache  to  see 
you  all!  Give  my  love  to  the  Saints — Livermore, 
Osgood,  Frothingham,  Chapin.  Tell  them  to  keep 
a  little  corner  in  their  hearts  and  memories  for  me, 
and  believe  me,  dear  Bellows, 

"Truly  and  warmly, 
"Yours,  T.  S.  King." 

To  the  same : 

"San  Francisco,  October  lo,  1862. 
"This  will  be  handed  to  you  by  our  excellent 
Congressman,  Hon.  A.  A.  Sargent,  a  bright,  honest, 
able  and  handsome  man.  It  is  not  for  me  to  intro- 
duce him  to  you.  He  carries  with  him  the  best  pos- 
sible card  and  commendation,  in  the  six  thousand 
dollars  of  pure  gold  which  his  home  city  here,  Ne- 
vada, has  entrusted  to  him  for  the  Commission,  and 

[191] 


THOMAS  STARR  KING 

the  twelve  thousand  dollar  draft  of  which  he  is  the 
bearer  from  Marysville.  I  helped  stir  up  the 
Marysville  saints  to  their  good  works.  Nevada,  hav- 
ing Sargent  in  it,  needed  no  other  stimulant.  And 
both  towns  will  do  more  for  the  Fund. 

"In  fact,  the  State  is  just  waking  up.  We  are 
tasting  the  pleasure  of  doing  our  duty,  and  every 
county  here  aches  for  some  of  your  eloquence  as  a 
special  and  local  bounty  and  dainty.  I  advise  you 
to  keep  your  eloquence-reservoir  well  supplied,  with 
the  faucet  free,  for  several  weeks  to  come. 

"My  wife  encloses  with  this  note  a  draft  for  the 
fund  of  $536.80,  which  she  has  bought  with 
some  money  sent  to  her  to-day  from  some  ladies  in 
Santa  Clara,  a  village  about  forty  miles  from  our 
city.  Julia  is  Treasurer  of  our  Ladies'  Lint  Associa- 
tion here,  of  which  Mrs.  Swain  is  Secretary,  and 
Mrs.  Winchester,  who  goes  to  New  York  by  this 
steamer.  President.  They  send  some  lint,  etc.,  to  you 
by  this  vessel,  and  will  send  more  on  the  21st. 

"You  have  received  our  second  hundred  thousand 
with  the  request  to  send  thirty  of  it  to  St.  Louis. 
Our  Committee  were  grievously  afflicted  in  being 
obliged  to  stipulate  with  you  at  all  as  to  distribution. 
They  are  so  delighted  with  your  dispatches  and  so 
thoroughly  reliant  upon  your  judgment,  that  they 
wanted  to  pour  the  money  into  your  hands  and  give 
you  carte  blanche.  To  prevent  any  controversy  be- 
tween St.  Louis  and  New  York,  our  Committee,  much 
to  their  regret,  were  obliged  to  ask  you  to  send  from 
the  second  hundred  thousand  enough  to  make  fifty 
thousand.  You  will  not  be  hampered  hereafter  by 
our  Committee,  who  are  unanimously  in  favor  of 
making  you  Commander  in  Chief  now,  and  succes- 
sor to  Uncle  Abe  in  1864! 

[192] 


CAMPAIGN  FOR  THE  UNION 

"The  State  continues  to  do  nobly  in  contributions. 
They  are  not  complete  yet  in  any  counties,  and  there- 
fore we  have  received  but  little  in  the  city  of  what 
has  been  subscribed.  But  I  think  that  a  hundred 
thousand  dollars  has  been  pledged  already  outside 
of  San  Francisco,  which  will  soon  find  its  way  into 
your  sacred  purse.  I  want  the  State  to  come  up  to 
half  a  million.  To-morrow  I  am  to  speak  at  a  mass 
meeting  in  one  of  our  farming  counties.  Last  night 
I  addressed  an  Agricultural  Fair,  and  closed  with  an 
appeal  for  the  Fund.  Next  week  and  week  after  I 
shall  be  in  the  same  business.  And  all  this  while 
the  rebel  congress  are  discussing  the  project  of  an 
address  to  the  Pacific  Coast  in  behalf  of  an  alliance 
offensive  and  defensive!  It  could  be  nothing  but 
offensive. 

'When  shall  we  strike  again  from  the  Potomac? 
'Little  Mac'  still  hugs  the  Maryland  shore.  Pope  was 
a  flatulent  soul ;  but  if  McClellan  turns  out  a  genius, 
there  is  no  truth  in  physiognomy.  He  would  do  to 
invest  Gibraltar,  or  bombard  Teneriffe,  or  attack  any 
fossil  concern  that  couldn't  change  outline,  but  a  foe 
that  has  alertness  and  two  ideas  an  hour  beats  him 
after  he  has  won  a  victory.  And  Halleck  is  fit  for 
one  bureau  in  the  War  Department.  He  is  a  man 
of  the  reddest  tape.  Bellows,  make  a  dash  for  the 
chief  command!  You  could  do  the  thing  and  save 
us! 

"Yours, 

"T.  S.  King." 
To  the  same : 

"San  Francisco,  Oct.  20,  1862. 
"Behold  duplicate  of  draft,  of  which  original  went 
to  you  by  Congressman  Sargent  on  the  nth  inst     I 

[193] 


THOMAS  STARR  KING 

don't  know  that  you  look  at  such  small  amounts  as 
five  hundreds  in  these  days  of  the  California  hydrau- 
lic streams.  Lots  of  little  towns  here  are  eager  to 
put  their  knuckles  to  your  battery,  and  get  a  spark 
and  shock.  I  am  trying  to  stop  them  and  save  you, 
and  I  hope  to  succeed.  I  am  laboring  to  get  the 
State  contributions  massed  in  San  Francisco,  and 
hurled  at  you  by  tens  of  thousands.  We  send  on 
thirty  thousand  to-morrow.  Are  we  not  doing  well? 
"Your  letter  to  our  Committee,  in  reply  to  the  first 
remittance  of  a  hundred  thousand,  takes  everybody 
down  here.  It  is  a  glorious  gush  of  eloquence,  and 
touches  California  exactly  in  the  right  spot.  The 
only  mistake  was  in  your  allusion  to  the  individuals 
that  have  helped  the  fund,  etc.  Who  can  they  be? 
I  shall  speak  this  week  in  the  interior  to  stir  up  the 
fund-contributions.  San  Francisco  is  to-day  the 
most  loyal  city  of  the  nation. 

"T.  S.  King." 

To  the  same. 

"San  Francisco,  October  28th,  1862. 

"You  must  be  tired,  by  this  time,  of  seeing  my 
signature  and  the  postmark  of  San  Francisco.  Bear 
up  a  little  longer  and  we  will  slacken.  Contribu- 
tions still  pour  in  for  the  fund.  Last  week  I  spoke 
four  nights  in  the  interior,  as  a  sort  of  rowelling 
process  on  the  conscience,  and  every  time  with  prom- 
ise of  good  results. 

"Last  week,  also,  we  published  a  circular  which 
I  enclose,  that  you  may  see  how  you  and  I  are  put 
into  the  same  sheets  in  California.  I  am  only  an 
Honorary  Member  of  the  Relief  Committee  here; 
but  I  draw  up  their  circulars  and  advise  them  as  to 

[194] 


CAMPAIGN  FOR  THE  UNION 

movements,  etc.  Otis,  Norris,  Redington  and  Mc- 
Ruer  are  members  of  our  parish.  Lent  would  be  if 
he  did  not  live  forty  miles  away.  I  drew  up  the 
enclosed  circular,  which  has  been  sent  all  over  our 
hundred  square  miles,  to  supply  the  final  stimulant 
to  the  out-of-the-way  regions  where  speakers  cannot 
go.  I  think  it  will  ensure  fifty  thousand  dollars  ad- 
ditional contribution,  which  will  yield  good  Cali- 
fornia interest  on  the  cost  of  printing. 

''T.  S.  King." 

From  all  sides  now  came  calls  for  his  services. 
"To-night,"  he  writes  humorously  from  the  mining 
town  of  Yreka,  "I  am  to  speak  in  a  village  with  the 
sweet  name  of  Dead  Wood,  and  to-morrow  at  the 
very  important  and  cultivated  settlement  of  Rough 
and  Ready.  Scott's  Bar  wants  me;  Horsetown  is 
after  me;  Mugginsville  bids  high;  Oro  Fino  applies 
with  a  long  petition  of  names.  Mad  Mule  has  not 
yet  sent  in  a  request;  nor  Piety  Hill,  nor  Modesty 
Gulch;  but  doubtless  they  will  be  heard  from  in  due 
time.  The  Union  sentiment  is  strong;  but  the  seces- 
sionists are  watchful  and  not  in  despair." 

He  was  as  effective  with  rough  miners  and  cow- 
boys as  with  cultivated  city  audiences.  Mr.  King  de- 
clared that  he  never  knew  the  exhilaration  of  public 
speaking  until  he  faced  a  front  row  of  revolvers  and 
bowie  knives.  "On  one  occasion,"  we  are  told,  "when 
every  seat  in  the  building  where  he  spoke  was  occu- 
pied, the  aisles  and  entry  packed,  and  a  compact  mass 
of  people  on  the  sidewalk,  a  tall,  rough  miner  on  the 
extreme  edge  of  the  crowd,  who  was  listening  in  an 

[195] 


THOMAS  STARR  KING 

ecstasy  of  delight,  nudged  his  shorter  companion 
and  exclaimed:  'I  say,  Jim,  stand  on  your  toes  and 
get  a  sight  of  him!  Why,  the  boy  is  taking  every 
trick!'  "  On  another  occasion,  his  impassioned  plea 
for  union  and  liberty  was  interrupted  by  a  solitary 
hiss.  Pausing  for  a  moment  Starr  King  remarked, 
"There  are  only  two  kinds  of  animals  that  express 
themselves  by  a  hiss — the  goose  and  the  snake." 
Then,  pointing  to  the  offender  he  cried:  "Behold 
the  Copperhead!"  He  responded  to  every  invita- 
tion; his  labors  were  endless  and  untiring.  "I 
should  be  broken  down,"  he  wrote  a  friend,  "if  I 
had  time  to  think  of  how  I  feel,  but  I  haven't." 

On  his  Columbia  River  trip  occurred  an  incident 
of  which  he  made  effective  use  in  his  public  addresses. 
On  the  deck  of  the  steamer  he  heard  a  man  declaim- 
ing to  his  fellow-passengers  in  behalf  of  secession 
and  slavery.  For  an  instant,  he  said,  he  was  possessed 
by  a  wild  impulse  to  seize  the  traitor  by  the  throat 
and  hurl  him  into  the  stream  below.  But  he  re- 
frained, for  he  remembered  that  its  waters  were 
clean! 

This  incident  brings  to  mind  a  charge  brought 
against  Mr.  King  that  in  his  oratorical  fervor  he  in- 
dulged sometimes  in  outbursts  of  invective  and  de- 
nunciation against  the  personal  character  and  motives 
of  the  enemies  of  his  country  and  his  kind.  But  let 
it  be  remembered  that  as  the  champion  of  the  national 
idea  he  was  confronted  not  only  by  reactionary  tra- 
ditions and  the  immobility  of  established  institutions 

[196] 


CAMPAIGN  FOR  THE  UNION 

and  vested  interests.  He  found  himself  opposed  also 
by  personal  antagonists,  well-organized,  rancorous, 
and  unscrupulous,  actively  at  work  in  defaming  him 
and  defeating  his  purposes.  It  was  inevitable,  there- 
fore, that  his  contest  with  the  enemies  of  his  cause 
should  assume  occasionally  a  personal  character, 
and  that  he  should  cherish  toward  them  sentiments 
of  disapprobation  and  hostility.  It  was  natural 
also  that  in  his  oratorical  campaigns,  in  seeking 
to  gain  adherents  to  the  cause  for  which  he  pleaded, 
he  should  endeavor  to  communicate  to  his  hearers 
the  moral  passion  that  fired  his  own  soul,  and  rouse 
them  also  to  indignation  and  hostility  to  these  incar- 
nate representatives  of  social  injustice  and  treason. 
This  emotional  appeal  may  be  carried  too  far  and 
lead  to  heated  controversies  and  denunciations  which 
neither  advance  the  true  interests  of  a  cause  nor  are 
worthy  of  its  advocates.  Mr.  King  cannot  be  pro- 
nounced entirely  free  from  these  rhetorical  sins. 
But  at  most  they  were  only  incidental  to  his  public 
discourse,  and  had  much  to  justify  them  in  the  aims 
and  conduct  of  the  Secession  party.  It  was  no  time 
for  soft  words  and  the  discriminating  and  balanced 
consideration  of  rival  principles  and  aims  in  the  po- 
litical order.  The  danger  was  imminent  that  the 
Federal  Union  would  be  dissolved,  the  State  of  Cali- 
fornia be  made  to  join  the  Confederacy,  and  human 
slavery  be  established  within  its  borders.  The 
National  flag  had  been  fired  on  at  Fort  Sumter,  a 
rebel  army  was  marching  on  Washington.     Every 

[197] 


THOMAS  STARR  KING 

just  oratorical  appeal  was  in  order  which  would  main- 
tain the  loyalty  of  the  state  and  nation  and  assure  the 
supremacy  of  patriotic  sentiments  among  the  people. 
Never  was  such  an  issue  presented  to  the  latter  for 
their  solution.  So  far  as  the  United  States  of  Amer- 
ica were  concerned,  the  Civil  War  demanded  of  them 
a  devotion,  a  sacrifice  of  life  and  of  treasure 
greater  than  the  Republic  had  hitherto  known  in  its 
history.  We  justly  take  pride  in  America's  great 
and  altruistic  contribution  to  a  righteous  decision  of 
the  world-war  just  ending.  But  the  victory  of  jus- 
tice, freedom  and  righteousness  in  the  Civil  War  of 
1860-5  has  been  the  most  important  event  in  our 
career  as  a  nation.  Even  a  Pacifist  like  John  Morley 
of  England  declares  it  to  have  been  "One  war  which 
was  justified  by  its  results." 

In  what  light  Mr.  King  himself  regarded  this 
matter  is  disclosed  by  one  of  his  patriotic  discourses, 
"The  Great  Uprising."  After  emphatically  declar- 
ing that  it  is  the  duty  of  a  Christian  minister  to  feel 
no  personal  animosity  to  any  human  being,  he  dis- 
tinguished between  a  wrong  done  to  himself  and  a 
wrong  done  to  the  community.  He  illustrates  the 
distinction  by  a  reference  to  the  President  of  the  Con- 
federate States.^ 

"He  is  a  representative  to  my  soul  and  conscience 
of  a  force  of  evil.  His  cause  is  a  pollution  and  a 
horror.  His  banner  is  a  black  flag.  I  could  pray 
for  him  as  one  man,  a  brother  man,  in  his  private, 

1  E.  P.  Whipple's  Memoir,  p.  44. 

[198] 


CAMPAIGN  FOR  THE  UNION 

affectional  and  spiritual  relations  to  Heaven.  But 
as  President  of  the  seceding  states,  head  of  brigand 
forces,  organic  representative  of  the  powers  of  de- 
struction within  our  country — pray  for  him!  As 
soon  as  for  antichrist!  Never!"  It  would  be,  he 
added,  incongruous  to  pray  for  him  as  he  prayed  for 
Abraham  Lincoln.  And  he  closed  his  sermon  with 
the  patriotic  and  devout  utterance:  "God  bless  the 
President  of  the  United  States,  and  all  who  serve 
with  him  the  cause  of  a  common  country!  God 
grant  the  blessing  of  repentance  and  return  to  alle- 
giance to  all  our  enemies,  even  the  traitors  in  their 
high  places!  God  preserve  from  defeat  and  dis- 
grace the  sacred  flag  of  our  fathers!  God  give  us 
all  the  spirit  of  service  and  sacrifice  in  a  righteous 
cause!     Amen!" 

Starr  King's  public  activities  for  his  country  in 
that  critical  hour  of  its  history  teach  with  moving 
eloquence  that  there  is  a  place  and  need  for  patriot- 
ism in  the  training  of  a  human  spirit,  and  that  it  is 
a  mark  of  impoverished  blood  to  deride  it,  even  if 
it  is  but  too  often  exalted  at  the  expense  of  justice 
and  truth  by  narrow  and  selfish  advocates  of  "our 
country,  right  or  wrong."  It  was  one  of  the  noblest 
implications  of  our  Civil  War  that  it  should  have 
stirred  in  the  breasts  of  multitudes  of  men  and 
women,  to  whom  until  that  crucial  hour  disinter- 
ested and  altruistic  sentiments  were  comparatively 
unknown,  a  sense  of  personal  duty  to  the  common 
weal,  a  devotion  to  the  ideals  of  liberty,  justice  and 

[199] 


THOMAS  STARR  KING 

humanity,  which  lifted  them  above  their  own  sordid 
interests  and  narrow  sympathies  into  unselfish,  heroic 
service  for  their  country  and  their  kind.  The  slo- 
gans of  that  day,  the  perpetuation  of  the  National 
Union  and  the  Freedom  of  the  Slave,  became  their 
passwords  of  entrance  into  the  brotherhood  of  man 
and  the  Kingdom  of  Heaven  on  earth.  Many  a 
man  whom  the  customary  appeals  of  religion  had  left 
unaftected  found  in  patriotism  an  elevation  of  spirit, 
an  ethical  and  humane  impulse  which  led  to  his  per- 
sonal and  social  salvation. 

The  same  thing  is  true  of  our  recent  world-war, 
and  is  one  of  the  redeeming  features  of  that  terrible 
and  lamentable  conflict  between  the  nations.  It  has 
mightily  developed  in  modern  society  the  National 
idea,  which  is  a  necessary  stage  in  the  evolution  of 
a  people.  This  National  idea  springs  from  the  con- 
sciousness of  descent  from  common  stocks,  from 
common  traditions,  interests  and  aims.  It  arises 
from  the  possession  of  a  common  country,  language 
and  literature,  and  common  social  and  political  in- 
stitutions. All  these  make  up  that  homogeneity  of 
sentiment,  that  unity  of  purpose  which  constitutes  a 
nation.  An  enlightened  national  patriotism,  there- 
fore, is  one  of  the  chief  factors  of  civilization  and 
the  condition  of  moral  and  social  progress.  The  his- 
tory of  mankind — from  the  Greek  and  Roman  com- 
monwealths down  to  the  group  of  new  nations  that 
to-day  in  response  to  this  sentiment  have  sprung  into 
existence  in   Eastern  Europe — impressively  teaches 

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CAMPAIGN  FOR  THE  UNION 

that  only  as  this  principle  of  Nationality  is  realized 
can  any  people  become  free,  strong  and  prosperous. 

Moreover,  as  Starr  King  would  have  told  us,  with- 
out this  sentiment  of  loyalty  to  the  Nation  there  can 
be  no  proper  ascent  to  the  larger  conceptions  of 
world-citizenship  and  world-brotherhood.  As  Maz- 
zini  said:  "Nationality  and  humanity  are  equally 
sacred.  To  forget  humanity  is  to  suppress  the  aim 
of  our  labors;  to  cancel  the  nation  is  to  suppress  the 
instrument  by  which  to  achieve  that  aim."  Society 
has  expanded  from  devotion  to  clan  or  tribe  to  de- 
votion to  nation.  We  may  believe  that  this  will  not 
be  its  final  form.  The  existing  state  may  in  time  give 
way  to  larger  and  wider  forms  of  political  organiza- 
tion. The  proposed  League  of  Nations  points  the 
way  to  a  world-state,  a  universal  brotherhood  of  man- 
kind. But  this  last  is  a  sublime  Utopia  which  can  be 
made  actual  only  in  a  far-ofif  and  happier  time,  and 
then  only  by  a  natural  and  legitimate  expansion  of 
our  national  loyalties  and  duties.  Nor  is  there  any 
necessary  conflict  between  patriotism  and  the  love  of 
mankind,  between  nationality  and  humanity,  if  we 
only  see  to  it  that  our  devotion  to  our  country  does 
not  assume  narrow,  intolerant  and  unjust  forms. 
Fundamentally  the  interests  of  individuals,  of  na- 
tions, and  of  the  race  are  identical.  It  is  only  man's 
folly  and  wickedness  that  produce  a  conflict  between 
them. 

As  the  world-war  reveals  to  us,  love  of  country, 
love  of  nationality,  is  still  a  master  passion  of  the 

[201] 


THOMAS  STARR  KING 

human  heart.  It  is  an  inevitable  and  necessary  stage 
in  the  evolution  of  human  society,  preparing  the  way 
for  ever-enlarging  conceptions  of  human  brother- 
hood, of  that  new  world  in  which  nations  and  states 
will  not  be  abolished  but  federated,  and  live  together 
in  peace  and  goodwill  and  service  to  one  another. 

This  larger  view  of  patriotism  is  well  set  forth  in 
an  oration  on  "The  Organization  of  Liberty  on  the 
Western  Continent,"  delivered  before  the  Municipal 
Authorities  of  the  City  of  Boston,  July  4th,  1852. 

This  oration,  written  by  Starr  King  in  his  28th 
year,  closes  with  an  eloquent,  and,  in  the  light  of  re- 
cent events,  remarkable  presentation  of  the  ideal  aims 
of  human  society,  a  glowing  prophecy  of  the  New 
World  which  it  is  the  privilege  of  the  present  genera- 
tion to  see  arising  out  of  the  ruins  of  the  old  order, 
and  in  which  justice,  mercy,  brotherhood  and  peace 
are  to  be  the  corner  stones  of  a  higher  civilization; 
the  precious  fruits  of  an  enlightened  patriotism, 
whose  ultimate  aim  is  the  redemption  and  uplift  of 
the  human  race. 

Said  Mr.  King: 

"The  mission  of  our  land  is  still  the  path  of  or- 
ganization, not  aggressive  propagandism  or  military 
interference.  Let  its  influence  be  felt,  in  the  lines  of 
just  and  holy  law,  by  process  of  construction  through 
moral  forces  in  favor  of  a  higher  national  morality; 
by  forcible  protests  against  oppressive  interference 
on  the  part  of  other  nations  in  violation  of  the  inter- 
national code,  but  still  with  the  dignity  that  shows 
the  desire  to  keep  the  posture  of  peaceful  friendship 

[202] 


CAMPAIGN  FOR  THE  UNION 

and  practical  instruction  towards  the  European 
world. 

''Our  responsibility  to  the  oppressed  of  other 
lands  is  a  deeper  one  than  that  of  furnishing  ammuni- 
tion and  supplies;  it  is  the  responsibility  of  faithful- 
ness here  to  republican  ideas,  and  of  progress  in  the 
path  suggested  by  the  promptings  of  our  history  and 
the  beckonings  of  Providence.  Every  noble  institu- 
tion we  build  up  here  is  a  more  encouraging  beacon 
to  the  struggling  people  of  Europe  than  the  fire-light 
of  war.  The  striking  ofif  of  each  new  fetter  here 
resounds  cheeringly  through  Europe.  A  musical 
tone  travels  much  farther  than  a  growl;  and  the 
effluence  of  a  righteous  victory  of  freedom  on  our 
shores  will  reach  farther  at  last,  and  work  more 
benefit  for  other  races,  than  the  sputter  of  our  mus- 
ketry in  Trieste,  and  the  roar  of  our  floating  batteries 
on  the  Danube.  Let  us  not  doubt  that  the  wiping 
out  of  an  oppressive  statute  in  our  code  somehow 
makes  the  throne  of  Nicholas  less  firm.  And  all  the 
prosperity,  stability,  and  peace  with  which  we  in- 
vest the  possession  of  freedom  hasten  the  doom  of 
foreign  bondage,  for  they  shed  a  light  and  a 
fragrance  into  the  public  sentiment  that  will  guide 
the  footsteps  and  revive  the  courage  of  the  army  of 
liberty  in  Europe,  and  they  shame  the  lies  that  would 
brand  republicanism  as  anarchy.  .  .  . 

"And  so  the  lesson  of  our  theme  warns  and  be- 
seeches us,  as  patriots  and  as  lovers  of  the  world,  to 
go  on  in  the  work  of  organization.  Our  fathers  have 
left  us  a  work  to  do.  We  are  no  spiritual  children 
of  theirs  if  we  believe  that  all  which  is  desirable, 
and  can  be  made  safely  operative  in  society,  has 
been  embodied  here.  Plainly  enough  there  are  un- 
finished portions  of  their  scheme  which  it  is  for  our 

[203] 


THOMAS  STARR  KING 

generation  and  those  who  come  after  us,  to  complete, 
out  of  reverence  for  their  memory,  adoration  of  the 
truth  and  love  of  mankind. 

"If  there  is  a  race  within  our  borders  for  which 
there  is  no  organization  of  liberty,  but  upon  whom 
the  architecture  of  the  Saxon  institutions  frowns 
like  the  sullen  masonry  of  forts  and  jails;  to  whom 
their  security  is  the  security  of  the  dungeon;  and  for 
whom  the  strength  of  law  is  the  strength  of  bolts  and 
chains:  how  plain  is  the  call  upon  those  of  our 
people  whose  hands  can  help  them,  to  consider  their 
case  in  the  light  and  by  the  methods  of  a  practical 
and  sinewy  wisdom!  .  .  . 

"It  is  a  problem  of  life,  that  may  take  generations 
perhaps  to  solve,  but  yet  that  must  be  solved,  guided 
by  the  fixed  principle  that  there  must  come  the  time 
when  every  human  being  who  stands  on  American 
soil  shall  have  rights  that  are  hedged  by  friendly 
statutes,  and  a  sacred  freedom  which  the  whole  spirit 
of  society  is  pledged  to  maintain. 

"In  whatever  way  the  spirit  of  social  justice  can 
be  made  to  enter  more  deeply  into  our  policy,  or 
domesticate  itself  in  new  features  of  our  code  with- 
out disruption  of  order, — in  plans  of  land  reform, 
— in  adjustments  of  the  relations  of  labor,  so  that 
the  laborer  may  be  more  efficiently  a  man, — in  the 
projection  of  schemes  for  the  safety  and  nurture  of 
the  perishing  classes, — we  are  called  on  cautiously 
to  make  the  experiment;  and  to  show  how  far  and 
with  what  results  the  forces  of  society  may  shoot  out 
into  regions  that  have  hitherto  been  abandoned  to 
grim  laws  of  competition  and  caprices  of  private 
charity.  .  .  . 

"Where  is  the  American  spirit  that  should  be 
nurtured  by  our  institutions,  if,  in  the  very  light  of 

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CAMPAIGN  FOR  THE  UNION 

our  history,  we  are  to  distrust  the  power  of  the  people 
to  organize  better  institutions  for  themselves  than 
the  brain  of  a  tyrant  can  devise?  Do  you  say  that 
the  path  of  revolution  for  Europe  is  a  perilous  and 
shaded  way?  We  know  it.  But  the  last  spirit  to  be 
fostered  in  the  American  breast  is  that  which  would 
bring  all  the  perils  that  may  beset  the  popular  effort 
for  self-government  into  any  comparison  with  the 
quiet  maintained  by  unscrupulous  despotism.  Insti- 
tutions like  ours  Europe  may  not  be  able  to  establish, 
may  not  devise,  may  not  desire;  a  long  and  bloody 
storm  may  intervene  between  the  overthrow  of 
oppression  and  the  organization  of  peace;  but  it  is 
not  for  us  to  preach  and  nourish  hopeless  distrust  of 
the  ability  of  popular  Europe, —  if  left  for  a  gen- 
eration, or  for  half  a  century,  in  the  experiment  of 
liberty, — to  correct  mistakes,  to  prune  excesses,  and 
to  find  the  preparation  for  republicanism  which  we 
so  earnestly  talk  about,  but  which  will  never  be 
gained  by  living  under  the  shadow  of  absolute 
thrones. 

^'And  finally,  we  are  warned  by  our  history  not 
to  distrust  the  capacity  of  the  human  race  to  attain  a 
social  order  upon  the  earth  of  a  higher  stamp  than 
any  yet  secured.  It  is  justice  which,  thus  far  in 
human  experience,  has  been  heaving  the  founda- 
tions of  society,  that  some  of  its  principles  may  gain 
a  solid  place.  The  great  struggle  has  been  to  bal- 
ance the  interests  of  the  masses  against  the  power  of 
the  few,  so  that  nature  might  be,  in  some  sense,  a 
home  for  them,  and  existence  a  blessing.  In  the 
institution  of  such  justice,  at  least  for  the  white 
races,  our  land  stands  preeminent,  far  ahead  of  the 
nations  that  have  gone  before.  Two  centuries  ago 
it  would  have  seemed  impossible,  Utopian,  to  the 

[205] 


THOMAS  STARR  KING 

wisest  statesmen  and  thinkers  of  the  world,  to  realize 
on  a  scale  such  as  this  country  now  exhibits,  such  a 
scheme  of  self-supporting,  orderly  and  stable  democ- 
racy. But  there  are  dreams  of  men,  yes,  promises  of 
a  wisdom  higher  than  man's,  that  this  earth  is  yet 
to  be  the  scene  of  organizations  nobler  than  those  of 
justice, — organizations  of  love.  It  is  inspiring  to 
think  of  some  far-ofif  centuries  as  destined  to  witness 
the  birth,  the  progress,  and  the  completion  of  such 
a  blessing  for  our  race.  And,  looking  at  our  condi- 
tion from  the  cruel  feudal  times,  or  from  the  level 
of  a  Patagonian  degradation,  such  an  organization 
of  love  upon  the  earth  does  not  seem  wholly  a  dream. 
And  so  this  great  value  belongs  to  our  history,  that 
the  philosophy  of  it  helps  our  Christian  hope.  It 
makes  prophecy  seem  more  sober.  It  brings  the 
rhetoric  of  Isaiah  within  the  sympathy  of  common 
sense. 

"It  is  a  summit  from  which  the  thinker  may  look 
off,  like  Moses  from  the  mount,  upon  new  and  charm- 
ing fields  lying  sweet  in  the  smile  of  Heaven,  where 
the  armies  of  humanity — that  have  come  up  out  of 
the  bondage  of  despotism,  and  marched  with  sad- 
ness, but  with  courage,  through  the  wastes  and  want 
of  the  desert  of  selfishness, — shall  find  a  home,  shall 
build  amid  plenty,  and  enjoy  in  peace;  and  the  na- 
tions, bound  into  solidarity  of  life  despite  their  varie- 
ties,— as  the  globe,  with  all  its  latitudes  and  zones, 
its  polar  and  tropic  climes,  its  mountains  and 
prairies,  its  streams  and  seas,  is  organized  into  one 
physical  republic, — 'shall  beat  their  swords  into 
ploughshares  and  their  spears  into  pruning  hooks,' 
and  praise  the  Creator  through  a  life  of  song,  labor, 
and  prayer." 

[206] 


CHURCH  AND  TOMB  OF  THOMAS  STARR  KING  IN  SAN  FRANCISCO 


CHAPTER  III 

DEDICATION  OF  THE  NEW  CHURCH 

RETURNING    to    Mr.    King's    ministerial 
duties  we  find  him  occupied  with  the  com- 
pletion of  the  new  church  his  society  was 
erecting. 

Its  corner  stone  was  laid  with  appropriate  exer- 
cises on  December  3rd,  1862.  Since  no  other  clergy- 
men of  his  own  faith  were  on  the  Pacific  Coast  to 
assist  him  in  the  dedicatory  exercises,  Mr.  King  asked 
his  colleagues  on  the  Atlantic  Seaboard  to  be  present 
by  letters  or  telegraphic  message  and  share  in  the 
congratulation  and  joy  of  the  occasion. 

''Our  new  church  will  be  completed  about  the 
last  of  July,  and  I  wish  to  have  letters,  read  on  the  oc- 
casion from  Bellows,  Hedge,  Dewey  and  Alger. 
Bartol  will  send  a  hymn,  and  perhaps  Hedge  also 
with  his  letter.  So  I  hope,  and  so  I  trust  you  will 
urge  them  to  respond.  I  do  not  ask  for  long  and 
elaborate  letters.  A  sheet  of  letter  paper  will  be 
enough.  We  want  the  magnetic  wire  to  connect 
us,  that  day,  with  the  heart  of  the  East.  It  will  do 
us  good  to  get  shocks  from  all  of  you  I  mention.  So 
do  not  fail  to  respond  to  this  call  for  a  little  mission- 
ary labor.  Write  by  the  tenth  of  June,  send  by 
overland  mail,  and  the  letters  will  be  in  season.  Do 
not  delay  after  that." 

[207] 


THOMAS  STARR  KING 

He  himself  contributed  over  $5,000,  to  the  under- 
taking, raising  the  money  by  lectures  wrung  from  his 
over-worked  brain.  Mr.  King  felt  that  this  was  to 
be  the  crowning  act  of  his  life.  "The  new  church 
completed  and  paid  for,"  he  writes,  "I  shall  be  ready 
to  drop  into  my  grave." 

At  length  the  handsome  structure  on  Geary  Street, 
since  surrendered  to  the  encroachment  of  business, 
was  completed,  and  dedicated  on  Sunday,  January 
tenth,  1864,  in  two  successive  services,  to  the  Worship 
of  God  and  the  Service  of  Man.  The  hymn  which 
the  poet  Whittier  contributed  to  the  service  was  espe- 
cially admired. 

Amidst  these  glorious  works  of  thine, 
The  solemn  minarets  of  the  pine, 
And  awful  Shasta's  icy  shrine, — 

Where    swell    thy    hymns    from    wave    and    gale, 
And  organ-thunders  never  fail, 
Behind  the  cataract's  silver  veil, 

Our  puny  walls  to  Thee  we  raise, 
Our  poor  reed-music  sounds  thy  praise: 
Forgive,  O  Lord,  our  childish  ways! 

For,  kneeling  on  the  altar  stairs. 

We  urge  Thee  not  with  selfish  prayers. 

Nor  murmur  at  our  daily  cares. 

Before  Thee,  in  an  evil  day. 
Our  country's  bleeding  heart  we  lay. 
And  dare  not  ask  thy  hand  to  stay; 

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DEDICATION  OF  THE  NEW  CHURCH 

But,  through  the  war-cloud,  pray  to  thee 
For  union,  but  a  union  free, 
With  peace  that  comes  of  purity! 

That  Thou  wilt  bare  thy  arm  to  save. 
And,  smiting  through  this  Red  Sea  wave, 
Make  broad  a  pathway  for  the  slave! 

For  us,  confessing  all  our  need. 

We  trust  nor  rite  nor  word  nor  deed. 

Nor  yet  the  broken  stafT  of  creed. 

Assured  alone  that  Thou  art  good 
To  each,  as  to  the  multitude. 
Eternal  Love  and  Fatherhood, — 

Weak,  sinful,  blind,  to  Thee  we  kneel, 
Stretch  dumbly  forth  our  hands,  and  feel 
Our  weakness  is  our  strong  appeal. 

So,  by  these  Western  gates  of  Even 

We  wait  to  see  with  thy  forgiven 

The  opening  Golden  Gate  of  Heaven! 

Suffice  it  now.     In  time  to  be 
Shall  holier  altars  rise  to  thee, — 
Thy  Church  our  broad  humanity! 

White   flowers   of   love   its  walls   shall   climb. 
Soft  bells  of  peace  shall  ring  its  chime. 
Its  days  shall  all  be  holy  time. 

A  sweeter  song  shall  then  be  heard, — 
The  music  of  the  world's  accord 
Confessing  Christ,  the  Inward  Word! 

[209] 


THOMAS  STARR  KING 

That  song  shall  swell  from  shore  to  shore, 
One  hope,  one  faith,  one  love,  restore 
The  seamless  robe  that  Jesus  wore. 

Mr.  King  wrote  his  thankfulness  and  joy  to  a 
friend. 

"San  Francisco,  January  nth,  1864. 

"My  dear  Alger: 

"I  seize  the  first  moment  that  ofifers  after  the  cares 
and  joys  of  the  Dedication  to  write  to  you  greeting, 
thanks  and  friendship.  .  .  .  How  long  delayed  our 
Inauguration  has  been!  The  Contractors  and  Ar- 
chitects promised  us  the  Church  in  August  last: 
they  were  four  months  behind  time  and  they  were 
tedious  months  to  our  Committee  and  myself.  But 
we  saw  the  church  finished  about  Christmas  and 
waited  until  we  could  get  assurance  that  it  would  be 
paid  for  by  subscription.     We  dedicated  it  yesterday. 

"What  a  scene  it  was!  It  will  hold  fifteen  hun- 
dred, and  it  was  packed  with  souls  that  seemed  to  feel 
reverence  and  joy.  A  more  beautiful  church  inter- 
nally I  never  saw.  The  general  arrangements  were 
planned  by  myself,  but  the  architect,  Mr.  Wm. 
Patton,  a  thoroughly  trained  English  artist  in 
Gothic,  carried  out  the  design  with  rare  nobleness 
and  taste.  The  whole  cost  is  $90,000  for  Church 
and  Chapel  and  all  appointments.  We  have  just 
made  a  subscription  in  our  city  of  $200,000  for  the 
Soldiers'  Sanitary  fund,  a  large  share  of  which 
comes  from  men  interested  in  our  movement.  It 
was  no  boy's  play  to  get  70  or  80  thousand  dollars 
more  for  our  church  at  Christmas  time.  But  before 
the  year  is  over — many  say  before  a  month — every 
cent  will  be  paid.     No  mortgage  will  be  allowed  on 

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DEDICATION  OF  THE  NEW  CHURCH 

the  building.  We  rent  the  pews  for  a  year  and  ob- 
tained $20,000  in  one  night!  Our  plate  collections 
are  $5,000  a  year.  So  that  our  income  this  year  will 
be  $25,000. 

"We  stand  this  year,  I  believe,  in  proportion  to 
our  pews  No.  One  in  the  United  States,  so  far  as 
the  amount  voluntarily  contributed  for  church  ex- 
penses is  concerned.  Beecher  raised  $30,000  a  year, 
out  of  a  house  twice  as  large.  The  letters  from  our 
Eastern  brethren  were  a  great  feature  of  the  dedica- 
tion. I  read  them  all,  except  Bellows',  which  was 
too  long  for  the  time  at  command,  and  will  be  read 
when  the  baptismal  font  his  church  has  given  shall 
be  finished.  All  the  letters  were  admirable.  I 
never  knew  so  hearty  expressions  of  intellectual  ap- 
preciation and  grateful  satisfaction  as  came  to  me  at 
once  after  service  yesterday,  in  response  to  your 
letters.     Heartiest  thanks  for  them. 

"I  long  to  get  your  book.  How  glorious  is  Mar- 
tineau's  article  on  Renan!  I  long  to  see  you  all. 
Gladly  now  would  I  surrender  our  exquisite  church 
to  a  new  man  in  all  its  prosperity,  and  let  him  enjoy 
the  satisfaction  of  success.  I  begin  to  feel  tired  and 
lonely." 

Mr.  King  was  now  led  to  think  of  rest  and  change 
of  scene.  The  church  was  built,  the  State  was  safe, 
giving  30,000  majority  for  the  re-election  of  Abraham 
Lincoln.  Brilliant  victories — New  Orleans,  Vicks- 
burg  and  Chattanooga — had  assured  the  permanence 
of  the  National  Union.  A  remunerative  investment 
in  one  of  the  Washoe  silver  mines,  made  on  the  ad- 
vice of  business  friends  in  San  Francisco,  seemed  to 
have    rendered    secure    his    own    and    his    family's 

[211] 


THOMAS  STARR  KING 

worldly  fortunes.  A  journey  to  South  America,  a 
year  of  study  thereafter  in  Germany,  a  work  on 
the  California  Sierras,  and  one  on  Philosophy, 
were  among  his  dreams.  Yet  through  it  all  predom- 
inated the  feeling  that  he  should  not  live  to  realize 
these  hopes.  Mr.  King  was  exhausted  when  he  came 
to  California,  and  the  four  years  of  his  sojourn  there 
were  intensely  exciting  and  wearing.  Only  by  his 
powerful  will  and  sense  of  patriotic  duty  had  his 
frail  body  kept  up  its  service  until  now.  Like  his 
father  before  him,  he  had  always  felt  that  he  should 
not  long  survive  his  fortieth  year,  and  it  proved  a 
true  prophecy. 


[212] 


CHAPTER  IV 

DEATH  OF  THE  PATRIOT  AND  PREACHER 

IN  the  midst  of  plans  for  recuperation  and  future 
usefulness  Starr  King  suddenly  broke  down. 
He  attended  on  a  Friday  evening  a  social  gath- 
ering of  his  parish.  As  he  left  the  hall  I  observed 
his  pallor  and  weakness,  and  entreated  him  to  spare 
himself.  On  Sunday,  February  28,  1864,  his  church 
remained  closed  and  the  report  went  forth  of  his  sud- 
den and  serious  illness.  The  physician,  now  called 
for  the  first  time,  pronounced  it  diphtheria,  and  said 
he  should  have  been  summoned  at  least  a  week  ear- 
lier. It  was  evident  that  his  illness  resulted  from 
the  utter  exhaustion  of  his  physical  system — he  was 
dying  from  overwork,  and  for  two  days  was  barely 
kept  alive.  Pneumonia  set  in,  but  his  wonderful  re- 
cuperative power  enabled  him  to  resist  this  danger- 
ous foe.  But  on  Friday  a  second  attack  of  pneumo- 
nia occurred,  and  his  physicians  gave  up  all  hope  of 
saving  him.  The  story  of  his  last  hours  is  touching 
and  beautiful. 

When  the  second  attack  set  in,  Mr.  King  asked, 
'What  is  this?  Is  this  pneumonia  too?"  His 
physician.  Dr.  J.  N.  Eckel,  replied  that  it  was.  "Can 
I  survive  it?"  Mr.  King  asked  calmly.     The  doctor 

[213] 


THOMAS  STARR  KING 

replied,  "I  fear  not"  ''How  long  can  I  live?" 
"Not  half  an  hour!"  was  the  reply.  "Are  you  sure 
that  I  cannot  live  longer  than  that?"  asked  Mr.  King. 
The  doctor  replied  sadly  that  he  feared  not.  His 
sufferings  now  left  him,  and  his  voice,  hitherto  raised 
hardly  above  a  whisper,  responding  to  his  will  re- 
turned in  full  strength  and  power.  Friends  about 
his  bedside  inquired  if  he  had  anything  to  say. 
"Yes,"  he  replied,  "a  great  deal  to  say;  first,  I  want 
to  make  my  will."  Calmly  dictating  his  will,  he 
had  it  read  to  him,  paragraph  by  paragraph,  saying 
**A1I  right,"  at  the  close  of  each,  and  finally,  "It  is 
just  as  I  want  it."  With  a  steady  hand  he  signed  his 
name  in  a  handwriting  as  firm  and  clerkly  as  he  ever 
wrote  in  his  life,  punctuating  it  and  putting  an  ac- 
customed flourish  beneath  it.  After  a  few  minutes 
of  rest  his  friends  came  up  one  after  another  to  bid 
him  farewell.  In  every  instance  he  greeted  them 
with  a  pleasant  smile,  saying  in  his  sweet  tones, 
"Good-bye,"  and  grasping  their  hands  with  fervor. 
To  the  maid,  Sarah,  he  returned  thanks  for  all  her 
care  for  him,  and  commended  to  her  his  little  son. 
He  whispered  to  his  wife,  "Be  sure  and  tell  Dr. 
Eckel  I  think  he  has  done  everything  a  human  agent 
could  do."  He  sent  a  farewell  message  to  his  con- 
gregation: "Tell  them  it  is  my  earnest  desire  that 
they  pay  the  remaining  debt  on  the  church.  Let  the 
church,  free  from  debt,  be  my  monument.  I  want  no 
better."  To  his  wife  he  said  :  "Do  not  weep  for  me. 
I  know  it  is  all  right.     I  wish  I  could  make  you  feel 

[214] 


DEATH  OF  THE  PATRIOT 

so.  I  wish  I  could  describe  my  feelings.  It  is  strange  I 
I  feel  all  the  privileges  and  greatness  of  the  future!" 
"I  see,"  he  said  to  another,  "a  great  future  before  me. 
It  already  looks  grand,  beautiful!"  "Tell  them  at 
home,"  said  he,  "that  I  went  lovingly,  trustfully, 
peacefully."  "To-day  is  the  4th  of  March.  Sad  news 
will  go  over  the  wires  to-day."  A  moment  of  quiet 
ensued.  Some  one  asking,  "Are  you  happy?"  he 
turned  his  full,  bright  eyes  upon  him, — "Yes! 
Happy,  resigned,  trustful."  Thereupon  in  a  clear, 
well-modulated  voice  he  repeated  the  23rd  Psalm, 
"The  Lord  is  my  Shepherd, — I  shall  not  want."  At 
the  words,  "Yea;  though  I  walk  through  the  valley 
and  the  Shadow  of  Death,  I  will  fear  no  evil;  for 
Thou  art  with  me ;  thy  rod  and  thy  staff  they  comfort 
me,"  he  raised  his  finger  with  an  accustomed  gesture, 
and  his  voice  was  full  of  emotion.  His  little  son 
was  now  brought  to  his  bedside.  "Dear  little  fel- 
low! He's  a  beautiful  boy,"  he  said,  and  kissed  his 
hand  to  the  child  as  he  was  carried  away.  This  was 
his  last  act  on  earth.  Calmly  closing  his  eyes  his 
soul  went  forth  into  the  great  hereafter. 

It  is  such  a  death  as  this  that  robs  the  grave  of  its 
terrors,  and  reinforces  the  oft  o'erclouded  instinct  of 
immortality  with  the  prophecy  and  assurance  of  eter- 
nal life. 

The  grief  that  followed  the  announcement  of  Mr. 
King's  death  was  universal  and  unrestrained.  A 
solemn  hush  seemed  to  have  settled  over  the  city 
which  awoke  as  usual  that  morning  to  its  restless  and 

[215] 


THOMAS  STARR  KING 

busy  life.  One  by  one  the  thousand  flags  that  had 
fluttered  so  gaily  in  the  morning  breeze  dropped  half- 
way down,  symbols  at  once  of  bereavement  and  com- 
memoration. The  usual  activity  of  business  life  was 
suspended.  The  Mint  and  other  Government  ofiices 
were  ordered  closed.  The  various  district  and  local 
courts,  after  listening  to  brief  tributes  to  his  memory, 
adjourned  for  the  day.  The  legislature  of  the  State 
voted  an  intermission  of  three  days.  All  felt  it  to 
be  a  national  and  not  merely  a  local  loss,  and  the 
sorrow  even  in  the  families  that  had  never  known 
him  was  all-prevailing  and  profound.  On  learning 
the  sad  intelligence,  I  went  with  a  friend  to  his  be- 
reaved home.  Our  German  friend.  Dr.  J.  N.  Eckel, 
met  us  on  the  threshold.  Said  he,  "I  would  will- 
ingly have  died  if  it  could  have  saved  him."  In  the 
well-known  parlor  lay  all  that  was  mortal  of  our  de- 
parted friend.  It  seemed  peculiarly  fitting  that  the 
flag  he  loved  so  well,  and  for  which  he  had  sacrificed 
his  life  as  truly  as  if  he  had  fallen  in  battle  under  its 
folds,  should  become  his  burial  shroud. 

It  was  only  a  few  hours  since  his  death,  yet  his 
features  wore  a  contracted  and  rigid  look  as  if  from 
physical  suffering.  It  seemed  difficult  to  believe  that 
this  slight  frame  and  worn  countenance  could  have 
enshrined  so  great  a  soul.  The  poet  Whittier  nobly 
uttered  the  sentiment  of  the  American  community  in 
that  hour  in  his  tribute  to  Starr  King: 

''The  great  work  laid  upon  his  two-score  years 
Is  done,  and  well  done.     If  we  drop  our  tears 

[216] 


DEATH  OF  THE  PATRIOT 

Who  loved  him  as  few  men  were  ever  loved, 
We  mourn  no  blighted  hope  nor  broken  plan 
With  him  whose  life  stands  rounded  and  approved 
In  the  full  growth  and  stature  of  a  man. 
Mingle,  O  bells,  along  the  Western  slope 
With  your  deep  toll  a  sound  of  faith  and  hope! 
Wave  cheerily  still,  O  banner,  halfway  down, 
From  thousand-masted  bay  and  steepled  town! 
Let  the  strong  organ  with  its  loftiest  swell 
Lift  the  proud  sorrow  of  the  land,  and  tell 
O  East  and  west,  O  morn  and  sunset, — twain 
No  more  forever!     Has  he  lived  in  vain 
Who  priest  of  Freedom,  made  ye  one,  and  told 
Your  bridal  service  from  his  lips  of  gold?" 

The  funeral  service  took  place  on  the  following 
Sunday.  A  military  guard  had  been  placed  to  main- 
tain order.  Young  men  of  the  parish,  the  writer 
among  them,  acted  as  ushers.  When  the  doors  of  the 
church  were  opened  to  the  public  a  continuous  stream 
of  people  for  hours  flowed  in  and  out  of  the  edifice 
to  gaze  once  more  upon  the  loved  features  of  its  min- 
ister, whose  lifeless  form  lay  at  the  foot  of  the  altar 
enshrouded  by  the  American  flag.  On  his  breast 
was  a  tiny  bouquet  of  violets,  placed  there  in  compli- 
ance with  a  telegram  from  Mrs.  Jessie  Fremont: 
"Put  violets  for  me  on  our  dear  friend  who  rests." 

Never  shall  I  forget  the  two  negro  women  who 
came  forth  with  streaming  eyes  from  the  throng,  and 
kneeling  by  the  inanimate  form  of  this  friend  of  their 
race,  with  passionate  sobs  kissed  the  folds  of  the 
United  States  flag  which  formed  his  burial  shroud. 

[217] 


THOMAS  STARR  KING 

It  was  by  the  sacrifices  of  such  heroes  of  the  spirit 
that  the  Stars  and  Stripes  had  become  to  them  also 
the  emblem  of  liberty,  the  flag  of  their  country. 

The  commemorative  services  were  conducted  by 
the  Masonic  body,  of  which  he  had  been  Grand 
Orator.  Two  large-hearted  Orthodox  ministers,  a 
Presbyterian  and  a  Methodist,  assisted.  With  the 
organ,  his  gift  to  the  church,  sobbing  a  mournful 
miserere,  with  the  triumphant  song  by  a  woman's 
voice:  *'I  know  that  my  Redeemer  liveth!"  and  the 
afternoon  sun  sifting  its  rays  through  a  stained  glass 
window  upon  the  preacher's  lifeless  form  before  the 
altar;  with  the  booming  of  Government  cannon  from 
the  adjacent  square  and  Fort  Alcatraz;  with  flags  at 
half-mast  from  public  buildings  and  the  shipping  in 
the  harbor,  while  a  vast  crowd  of  twenty  thousand 
people  surged  in  and  about  the  church,  we  bade  him 
a  last  farewell  on  earth. 

A  telegraphic  message  sent  from  New  York  City 
by  his  friend  Rev.  Dr.  Henry  W.  Bellows,  President 
of  the  United  States  Sanitary  Commission,  best 
voiced  the  universal  grief  and  sentiment  of  the  hour. 

"New  York,  March  5,  1864. 
**To  the  People  of  California: 

"The  sad  tidings  of  to-day  have  broken  our  hearts. 
Thousands  here  will  weep  with  you  over  his  bier. 
You  have  had  our  brightest,  our  noblest,  our  best, 
and  he  has  lived  and  died,  in  the  fulness  of  his  man- 
hood, in  your  service.  Who  shall  fill  his  place  on 
the   platform,    in   the   pulpit,   in  the  hearts  of  his 

[218] 


DEATH  OF  THE  PATRIOT 

friends?  His  full,  quick,  penetrative  mind,  winged 
with  fancy  and  with  restlessness  in  the  service  of 
truth,  liberty  and  righteousness — his  soul,  glowing 
with  natural  sympathy,  Christian  patriotism,  uni- 
versal philanthropy;  his  every  action  made  to  utter 
and  diffuse  the  noble,  inspiring  convictions  of  his 
pure,  loving  nature;  his  eye  the  window  of  an  open, 
honest,  fervent  soul — his  whole  character,  'made 
uip  of  every  creature's  best' ;  strong  and  gentle,  gen- 
erous and  prudent,  aspiring  and  modest,  controlling 
and  deferential;  knowing  the  world  and  its  ways, 
yet  clean  of  its  stains;  pious  without  sanctimony — 
what  but  his  own  living,  undying  confidence  in  the 
absolute  goodness  of  God  can  enable  us  to  sustain 
such  a  measureless  loss? 

"The  mountains  he  loved  and  praised  are  hence- 
forth his  monument  and  his  mourners.  The  White 
Hills  and  the  Sierra  Nevada  are  to-day  wrapped  in 
his  shroud.  His  dirge  will  be  perpetually  heard  in 
their  forests. 

"Farewell,  genial,  generous,  faithful  and  be- 
loved friend!  Thou  hast  gone  from  those  who 
loved  thee  best.  God  comfort  thy  family,  thy  flock, 
thy  broken-hearted  friends  on  both  sides  of  a  con- 
tinent!" 

On  Sunday  evening,  April  3rd,  1864,  there  was 
held  in  the  Hollis  Street  Church  in  Boston  an  im- 
pressive memorial  service  to  its  former  pastor,  whom 
the  congregation  four  years  previously  had  so  re- 
gretfully surrendered  to  the  larger  missionary  needs 
of  the  Pacific  Coast.  The  beautiful  edifice  was  filled 
to  overflowing  with  his  admirers  and  friends.  An 
impressive  simplicity  characterized  the  proceedings, 

[219] 


THOMAS  STARR  KING 

revealing  a  grief  that  lay  too  deep  for  external  expres- 
sion. Loving  hands  had  wreathed  the  pulpit  with 
dark  evergreens  entwined  with  white  immortelles, 
while  across  it  was  laid  the  silken  robe  of  the  departed 
preacher.  The  marble  font  below  was  filled  with 
many-hued  flowers,  emblematic  of  his  many-sided 
and  radiant  genius.  The  solemn  music  of  the  organ, 
the  pathetic  chanting  of  the  choir,  voiced  the  pre- 
vailing sentiment  of  the  hour.  The  religious  exer- 
cises were  conducted  by  Mr.  King's  successor  in  the 
pastorate,  Rev.  George  Leonard  Chaney.  In  suc- 
cession three  of  his  most  intimate  friends,  Edward 
Everett  Hale,  Edwin  P.  Whipple  and  Dr.  E.  H. 
Chapin,  rose  and  paid  eloquent  and  tender  tribute 
to  his  personal  gifts  of  mind  and  heart,  and  eminent 
public  services. 

The  remains  of  the  patriot-preacher,  enshrined  in  a 
sarcophagus  of  marble,  were  deposited  on  the  green 
plot  by  the  side  of  the  church  edifice  in  San  Fran- 
cisco; for  years  an  object  of  reverential  regard  to  the 
passers-by  and  a  place  of  pilgrimage  for  the  admirers 
of  Thomas  Starr  King. 


[220] 


STARR  KING  MOM  MINT  IN  GOLDEN  GATE  PARK,  SAN  FRANCISCO 


CHAPTER  V 

IN  APPRECIATION 

FROM  whatever  point  of  view  we  contemplate 
Starr  King,  whether  as  minister,  orator,  citi- 
zen, or  simply  as  a  man,  we  shall  find  much 
to  admire,  little  to  condemn. 

Some  men  are  eminent  through  their  intellect, 
others  through  their  conscience  and  courage,  others 
still  by  their  love  and  consecrated  service.  Starr 
King  was  notable  in  all  these  attributes  of  manhood. 
Few  men  were  so  free  from  faults  or  weaknesses. 
Says  his  intimate  friend.  Dr.  Cyrus  Bartol,  ''I  abode 
with  him  by  the  month  and  never  discovered  a  fault 
in  him.  I  am  profoundly  ignorant,  if  he  be  a  sinner, 
of  the  nature  of  his  sins."  Dr.  Edward  Everett  Hale, 
William  R.  Alger,  and  others  of  his  earlier  friends 
have  borne  similar  testimony.  "Wherever  he  went," 
says  his  eulogist,  Edwin  P.  Whipple,  "he  ennobled 
men.  Meanness,  bigotry,  avarice,  hatred,  low  views 
of  public  and  private  duty,  all  bad  purposes  and  pal- 
try expediences,  sunk  abashed  away  from  the  minds 
which  felt  the  light  of  that  sunlike  nature.  Every- 
body was  more  generous  from  contact  with  that  radi- 
ating beneficence.  Everybody  caught  the  contagion 
of  that  cheerful  spirit  of  humanity.     Everybody  felt 

[221] 


THOMAS  STARR  KING 

grateful  to  that  genial  exorcist  who  drove  the  devils 
of  selfishness  and  pride  from  their  hearts  and  replaced 
them  with  high  and  generous  sentiments." 

His  death  elicited  from  Frank  Bret  Harte  two 
poetic  tributes.  One  of  these:  "Relieving  Guard," 
with  its  beautiful  imagery  of  a  falling  star,  is  well 
known.  The  other — "On  a  Pen  of  Starr  King" —  is 
a  more  personal  and  appreciative  utterance  and  may 
appropriately  be  quoted  here: 

"This  is  the  reed  the  dead  musician  dropped, 

With  tuneful  magic  in  its  sheath  still  hidden; 
The  prompt  allegro  of  its  music  stopped, 
Its  melodies  unbidden. 

"But  who  shall  finish  the  unfinished  strain, 
Or  wake  the  instrument  to  awe  and  wonder, 
And  bid  the  slender  barrel  breathe  again, — 
An  organ-pipe  of  thunder? 

"His  pen!  what  humbler  memories  cling  about 
Its   golden    curves!   what   shapes    and    laughing 
graces 
Slipped  from  its  point,  when  his  full  heart  went  out 
In  smiles  and  courtly  phrases! 

"The  truth,   half-jesting,  half  in  earnest  flung; 
The  word  of  cheer,  with  recognition  in  it; 
The  note  of  alms,  whose  golden  speech  outrung 
The  golden  gift  within  it. 

"But  all  in  vain  the  enchanter's  wand  we  wave; 
No  stroke  of  ours  recalls  his  magic  vision; 
The  incantation  that  its  power  gave 
Sleeps  with  the  dead  magician." 
[222] 


IN  APPRECIATION 

Consider  him  as  a  patriot,  and  what  nobler  instance 
of  devotion,  of  unselfish  heroism  is  to  be  found  in  the 
annals  of  our  Civil  War?  Though  he  died  not  on  the 
field  of  battle,  yet  he  gave  his  utmost  to  his  country's 
need,  and  fell  at  last  as  true  a  martyr  to  the  sacred 
causes  of  human  freedom  and  national  integrity  as 
if  he  had  dropped  in  the  thick  of  the  fight  or  wasted 
away  in  a  military  prison. 

The  service  Starr  King  rendered  his  adopted  State 
in  her  hour  of  peril  has  not  been  over-estimated.  By 
his  example  and  speech  he  did  more  than  any  other 
man,  than  any  dozen  men  of  his  time,  to  lift  the 
Pacific  Coast  to  higher  levels  of  patriotic  duty  and 
national  sentiment.  Not  untruly  did  General  Win- 
field  Scott,  commander  in  chief  of  the  union  armies, 
declare  that  Starr  King  had  ''saved  California  to 
the  Union."  It  is  known  that  President  Abraham 
Lincoln  was  of  the  same  opinion.  And  still  his  mem- 
ory lingers  among  the  mountains  and  valleys,  the 
towns  and  mining  camps  of  California,  lending  a 
lofty  personal  association  to  her  magnificent  scenery 
and  romantic  past,  and  preserving  the  tradition  of 
moral  heroism  and  patriotic  service  in  the  minds  of 
her  people. 

Let  us  not  forget  what  California  did  for  him  in 
return.  It  was  in  that  new  society  that  his  genius, 
freed  from  the  shackles  of  conventional  thought  and 
life,  found  its  opportunity,  soared  to  a  higher  circle 
of  activities,  and  displayed  its  full  maturity  of  power. 
His  Eastern  intimates  were  unable  to  understand  how 

[223] 


THOMAS  STARR  KING 

one  whom  they  had  esteemed  simply  as  a  scholarly 
preacher  and  lecturer  and  a  delightful  companion, 
could  disclose  such  remarkable  abilities  as  a  moulder 
of  public  sentiment,  and  become  an  idolized  leader 
and  inspirer  of  the  masses,  a  heroic  figure  in  our 
national  history.  "He  was  one  of  the  last  men,"  Dr. 
Henry  W.  Bellows  confesses,  "we  should  have 
thought  of  to  spring  to  the  helm  in  a  time  of  public 
danger.  He  did  not  reveal  himself  to  us  as  a  man 
of  action,  a  responsible  leader  of  public  opinion  and 
a  guide  of  practical  affairs." 

Amidst  all  our  admiration  for  his  eminent  services 
to  his  country  and  his  kind  the  thought  intrudes  how 
much  more  he  might  have  accomplished  if  his  life 
had  been  extended  beyond  the  forty  years  allotted 
by  Providence ;  what  precious  intellectual  fruit  might 
have  been  produced  by  his  matured  powers;  what 
keen  enjoyment  to  himself  from  the  universal  grati- 
tude and  love  of  his  friends  East  and  West  and  the 
Nation  at  large.  But  it  was  not  to  be,  and  we  must 
rise  to  his  own  brave  acceptance  of  destiny,  and  his 
lofty,  unfaltering  faith  in  the  providential  ordering 
of  life  and  the  eternity  of  the  spiritual  capacities  of 
man. 

His  brief  but  brilliant  career  should  teach  high- 
minded  and  altruistic  American  youth  how  well 
worth  while  is  the  profession  of  a  Christian  minister; 
that  no  vocation  offers  greater  opportunities  for  per- 
sonal culture,  ethical  influence  and  public  service, 
none  confers  such  individual  happiness  or  is  more 

[224] 


IN  APPRECIATION 

widely  useful  in  the  community;  especially  in  these 
latter  days  when  more  than  ever  the  safety  and  wel- 
fare of  human  society  depend  on  the  larger  accept- 
ance of  moral  and  religious  ideals. 

Henceforth  Starr  King's  name  and  fame  will  be 
forever  associated  with  California  as  one  of  the  moral 
founders  of  that  young  and  growing  commonwealth, 
and  a  champion  of  the  national  idea  among  our 
American  people. 

There  is  no  lack  of  fitting  testimonials  to  the  im- 
portance of  the  service  he  rendered.  The  printed 
tributes  of  his  friends  and  admirers  are  many.  A 
collection  of  his  lectures  and  sermons,  prefaced  with 
a  memoir  by  Edwin  P.  Whipple,  was  published  in 
two  volumes.  Two  grand  mountain  peaks,  Mt. 
Starr  King  in  the  Yosemite  National  Park,  and  Mt. 
Starr  King  in  his  beloved  White  Hills  of  New 
Hampshire,  uplift  his  name  and  fame  into  the  region 
of  storms  and  stars.  One  of  the  kingly  giants  of  the 
forest  in  the  Mariposa  Sequoia  Grove  is  also  called 
after  him.  By  the  side  of  the  present  Unitarian 
Church  in  San  Francisco  stands,  as  it  did  by  the 
earlier  structure,  the  marble  sarcophagus  containing 
his  ashes.  The  California  Legislature  has  more  re- 
cently voted  to  make  Father  Junipero  Serra,  founder 
of  the  early  California  Missions,  and  Thomas  Starr 
King,  its  two  representative  heroes  in  the  National 
Hall  of  Fame  in  the  Capitol  at  Washington,  and  has 
made  an  appropriation  for  their  effigies  in  marble 
for  this  purpose. 

[225] 


THOMAS  STARR  KING 

In  the  great  city  park  of  San  Francisco  which  over- 
looks the  Golden  Gate  there  was  erected  in  1892  by 
popular  subscription  a  bronze  statue  of  Starr  King, 
lifting  his  endeared  image  against  the  sunlit  blue  of 
a  California  sky,  a  constant  reminder  of  his  services 
and  an  abiding  incentive  to  equal  patriotism  and 
devotion.  The  gifted  sculptor,  Daniel  French,  has 
imparted  such  a  life-like  and  spirited  expression  to 
his  work  that  it  almost  seems  as  if  those  bronze  lips 
must  open  with  lofty  and  impassioned  speech. 

'*So  let  the  light 
Stream  on  his  deeds  of  love  that  shamed  the  light 
Of  all  but  heaven,  and  in  the  book  of  fame 
The  glorious  record  of  his  virtues  write. 
And  hold  it  up  to  men,  and  bid  them  claim 
A  palm  like  his  and  catch  from  him  the  hallowed 
flame." 


[226] 


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